Don't Make Me Choose
by Kalsypher
Summary: Lorelei Winters, friend of Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes wanted a simple life. After becoming a super soldier, she found out she was the descendent of gods. Managing to go to Asgard to learn more, she met her teacher Loki. Her close friendship with the Starks made things complicated. She had a choice to make. Tony, her godson, Steve, her best friend, or Bucky, her love. BuckyxOC
1. Chapter 1

"Bastards!"

Despite the fragility of the blind woman, it still took two men to hold her back as she wildly lashed out, trying to grab her friend. Her voice wavered when there was no response. The train hadn't left, she could still hear the pistons hissing, smell the dreadful oil that had taken her other friend months before.

Now, they were taking another. Just like Bucky, Steve didn't tell her goodbye. Bucky had distanced himself the moment he was given his orders. Instead of inviting her to the Stark Expo he knew she had wanted to visit, he took Steve and two other girls, leaving her lost, broken, and alone in the shared apartment.

She wasn't jealous. There was no reason for her to be jealous over any girl Bucky had on his arm. They changed about as quickly as he changed socks. It hurt more that Steve didn't invite her either. Hours she sat alone in her bedroom, sewing to keep her mind occupied, wondering if they were coming home.

After Bucky had left for England, Steve practically stopped talking to her, thanking her for breakfast and supper, but never saying goodnight. For the first time in years, Lorelei felt truly alone. Steve never speaking only solidified the message.

She didn't matter.

When they had first taken her in, she believed they were showing pity to a stray. At the time, she had no connections and no purpose. Only after they had given her a place to stay did she start to show true talent in her seamstress work. According to Bucky, Steve had become quite a catch since his clothing fit.

She felt her skin rip as she fell to the ground, the men no longer holding her back. Long, deep cuts from the night before had broken open beneath the bandages as well as her knees getting scraped. It hurt. God, did it hurt. What was she supposed to do? She had lost her will to live.

"Miss?"

She lifted her head, unable to know exactly who had spoke to her. It was familiar, sending a waning to her chest. German?

"I would like to ask you a few questions," he said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Would you come with me?"

With no place to go and no one waiting for her, she nodded. What was the worst that could happen? She was blind, and without Steve and Bucky, rather pointless. The two people she poured her heart and soul into killed her reason to exist.

From what she could tell, he man was taller than Steve, possibly Bucky's height. The rough fabric of his jacket made her skin itch, but she didn't say anything as he looped his arm around hers. He smelled like chemicals, an odd sour, bitter scent, reminding her of the bizarre medicine shops she had passed.

"My name is Doctor Abraham Erskine. Your passion has me intrigued." When she didn't respond, he cleared his throat, "Your love for your friend has made me wonder about the wounds on your arm." She tensed at the the attention, though she wasn't surprised. "Do you truly believe Steven does not return that love?"

"How do you know his name?" Her tone was dark, full of warning that the doctor wasn't sure he was ready to handle.

"I met him at the expo. Did you know he's applied five times?"

She clenched her fists, "You're experimenting on Steve, aren't you?"

His other hand gently grasped her other arm as he turned her to face him, "Miss Winters, what if I could heal you of your blindness and multiple sclerosis?"

"You can't," she answered bluntly.

"I believe I can. If it is a successful experiment, Howard Stark will help you find a new life outside Brooklyn."

"And if it fails?"

"Mr. Stark has agreed to take the fall and not only compensate you, but take care of you for the rest of your life."

"I'll do it," she said, not giving the decision another thought.

If it failed, Steve wouldn't be able to take it. She had no one, nothing to keep her going. Not even a plant to water.

A door opened, scratched against the concrete floor. Looping his arm around hers once more, she allowed Doctor Erkstine to lead the way. Many voices, all male, bounced off the walls, whispers following, and saying how unfortunate she was to be another experiment.

"We will need you to change into new clothing," the doctor said, a bundle of clothes placed in her hands.

The familiar smoothness of another woman's hand gently touched her arm to lead her to a changing room. The surprise of pants had caught her more off guard than the odd cotton material they were made from. The shirt she had been given felt larger than any shirt Bucky had ever owned. Even all the shirts she had tailored had never been this size.

Stepping from the changing room, she was once more led to a man who briefly warned her that he would be placing her on a table and strapping her down. "Just in case you change your mind when it's too late," he lied as he finished the buckle on her neck and walked away.

A rough hand gently grabbed hers, "Hello, miss. I'm Howard Stark. What do you want to be the first thing you see?"

"My friends," she replied, but frowned shortly after. "Never mind. It doesn't matter what I see first."

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, "Alright. Let's get started."

She was left alone, though she could hear and feel a lot of shuffling around her, people poking and twisting her skin to get better angles on the needles they were sticking in her arm.

"Doctor Erkstine?" A hand gently grabbed hers in response, letting her continue. "Why me?"

"Steven told me the only person who truly deserved a second chance at life was you, Lorelei. He said only you would be able to truly appreciate the beauty the world had to offer. Only when you could see the world would the world have a chance at victory. I want to see the world through your eyes. A world with hope."

She began to feel light headed, "I don't feel so good."

The doctor's hand felt so warm. "That's normal," Erkstine replied, gently rubbing the back of her hand. "You will experience more pain soon, then the procedure will be over."

"Okay," she murmured, her eyes starting to close.

A dreadful shock hit her, pulling her from her comatose state. She screamed, but only out of fright. The pain radiating through her body was almost soothing. She could feel the vibrations healing every nerve, a glow began to appear before her eyes.

"Miss Winters? Can you hear me?" Doctor Erskine asked, following the questions with an annoying knock on the hollowed metal casing she was in.

"I'm fine," she replied, wincing as her eyes slowly absorbed the light.

The machine hissed as it opened, a person standing by her, a warm smile on his lips. Once the restraints were removed, she took a shaky step forward, her knees not buckling under her weight. Her eyes drank in her surroundings, curious as to what everything was called.

"Miss Winters?" The person was a man she could now confidently call Doctor Abraham Erkstine.

From the wrinkles on his face, she concluded he was old, since Bucky and Steve had smooth skin. The hair on his chin was a color unknown to her, but she knew it was a beard since Bucky had grown one once just so she would know what it was.

She reached out to him, placing her hand on his head, "This is hair?"

He nodded with a smile, "My hair is grey."

"Grey," she repeated before grabbing the first layer of clothing on his person. "This is a jacket."

"You know more than I thought," he approved, "It's brown."

She continued touching his clothing, verifying what it was and getting told the color. She ran around, pointing and asking questions about the various buttons, lights, levers and wheels in the room.

"Well, it worked," Howard Stark said, his lips twisting into a smile that made his black pencil mustache twist. "As agreed, I will give you whatever you want."

"A job," she answered, her eyes focusing on the dark irises that stared back in surprise. "I want to work for you, Mister Stark."

He rubbed the back of his neck, his shock turning into regret, "Not what I expected, but I'm a man of my word. We'll begin your lessons immediately so you can get caught up with everything happening in the world."

His first lesson was appearance. Her ashen hair was straight, lacking any volume or ability to curl. Howard had the mess cut, hiring another woman to teach her how to style it and how to do her makeup. How that woman made her hazel eyes seem so lovely was like watching a magician, then learning the tricks of the trade.

Her determination had surprised everyone that remained after Doctor Erkstine left for New Jersey. Howard Stark checked on her regularly, always finding her sitting on her bed, staring at a book. Within hours of receiving the serum, she had learned how to read and recognize colors. Her most recent discovery had been physics and engineering, the topics he required her to know. Three days after the injection, she was learning directly from Howard Stark, creating things and talking to him about different machines he could create with what types of material.

When a week had passed, she was so infatuated with building things, she didn't go with Howard to see the next super soldier be made. With their primary source of income being weapons, she had to focus and create more that would end the war sooner. After she nearly blew off her own arm, she decided to take a different approach to winning the war: safety, and Stark forced her to go to boot camp to learn proper gun safety.

When she returned, her seamstress talents soared as she flew through multiple ideas, fabrics, metals, and other resources.

"Lorelei, we're leaving," Howard announced as the girl pulled the trigger of an AK-47.

Walking to the tested fabric, she ran her fingers over it, finding no holes, only indentations. After grabbing a clipboard, she read over the testing she had done so far. It had survived guns, knives, weather, water and fire. Her last test was a grenade.

"Where are we going?" She asked as she started grabbing all the materials needed to create another uniform for an actual soldier to wear, as well as other materials for the helmet and boots.

"Italy. Colonel Phillips has asked for our assistance to penetrate the enemy's code, and they were shipped faulty equipment from our Maine branch."

She didn't reply as she closed the large chest, easily picking it up with one hand and following the man who had already packed her bags for her. Once on the plane, she ignored all of Howard's flirtatious remarks, seeing as how he had no one else to talk to. Every word he said she took to heart when she was working on something. At the moment, it was her measurements for the uniform she was creating.

"Where did you get these measurements from? Captain America doesn't need this," he took her as she continued sketching.

"I've never met Captain America. These are Bucky's measurements. Besides Steve, he was the only man I constantly touched to measure. Sometimes he would buy bigger clothing just so I would have a challenge, as if Steve wasn't challenging enough. So far, they've passed all my tests, but I haven't tried to blow it up yet."

"That's a bit unfair to the soldiers, don't you think?"

"The Maine branch sending faulty equipment isn't?" She asked, doing her best to keep her anger in check.

The gun was simple to make. It had the ability to use the friction heat from the initial gunshot to melt the gun casing, creating a second bullet. It was so simple, but the forces on the front line had been shipped over six hundred faulty guns. The branch was immediately shut down, every employee arrested in case HYDRA had gotten in. The mass suicide confirmed it.

Lorelei was put to work the moment the plane landed. Her primary goal was to fix the guns. She had managed to compartmentalize the war from her day to day life creating weapons, but the wall had been destroyed when HYDRA ruined her reputation with weaponry.

"You're the inventor of this gun?" A level, but authoritative voice asked as he entered the tent.

"Yes," she answered shortly, not looking up from the gun as she finished putting in the last screw. "Use them or don't, I don't care," she stood, facing the old man wearing colonel pins. "I will not sit here and allow my weapon be described as faulty. I'm going to fix every single gun here, and if you have a problem with it, you'll have to tie me up and ship me somewhere where I can't come back."

He was taken aback from her outburst, as was everyone else in the tent. "Doctor Erkstine was right. You're just as passionate as that Rogers boy but more disrespectful."

Lorelei snatched the gun from the table, shoving it in the Colonel's hands, "Distribute them how you see fit. There are nineteen more in the corner."

Once they left, she wasn't bothered again, except by someone bringing her food. Two days into the stay in Italy, and she had finished the guns, never telling anyone, except by placing the crate outside the tent. She couldn't focus on the grenade test so she began drawing up plans for the boots. If she was able to find a way to create a malleable shoe that wouldn't trigger landmines, she would be able to start an actual test run on her nearly complete combat uniform.

Her attention was pulled from another rough draft she was tossing away. The large man was panting, his blue eyes focusing on her as rain dripped down his face. Dressed in what she recognized to be the Captain America costume, she couldn't help but wonder why he desperately wanted to see her.

He looked confused, "I'm sorry, ma'am. I'm looking for Lorelei Winters."

"Well, you found her," she replied as she put her notepad down. "What can I do for you, uh, Captain?"

She was taken aback by his teary smile and dumbfounded by his words, "Lovie, it's me. It's Steve."

"Am I supposed to be happy to see you?" She asked, picking up her notebook. Two people called her Lovie, Steve and Bucky.

Again, she started sketching a boot, followed by various elements and effects that would come with each test.

His large hand gently touched her shoulder, earning him a punch so hard, he flew out of the tent. Furious did not describe the level of anger Lorelei felt as she stalked out of the tent, glaring down at her mud covered friend. His blue eyes showed their guilt and slight shock of betrayal.

"You abandoned me. Both of you abandoned me, Steve. Do you know what that was like? I was worried sick when neither of you came home, then I find out you went to the Expo without me? For God's sake, Steve, I don't ask for anything! My one request every year is to go to that damn expo." She sniffled, wiping the running makeup from her face. After a pain filled laugh, she looked at him, "You didn't notice, did you? It fell on my birthday this year." With a deep breath, she turned away from him, "Don't speak to me."

"Lovie, if you're going to ignore anything else I say, let me tell you one last thing. I'll be leaving soon to save Bucky. I don't know if I'll come back."

"Good luck. I hope you succeed," she told him, going back to the tent to finish working on the boots.

"I thought he was supposed to be a super soldier, but he just got knocked flat on his ass by that girl," she heard a soldier say as she passed.

In an instant, the man had found himself in the mud, staring in horror at the small woman that had just taken him down. "I thought you were supposed to be a man, but you just got knocked on your ass by a girl."

"Lore!" Howard waved her over. "Put that uniform of yours on. You're going with Rogers on that rescue mission."

Grumbling, she headed to her tent, mad that Stark knew she had created a smaller uniform for herself just in case she got dragged into this mess. She was technically a soldier, after all. It was the same dark brown combat boots with loose legged army green pants tucked inside. Her longsleeved shirt was the color of sand, an army green jacket shrugged on over it.

Rummaging through her chest, she pulled out all the weapons Steve would be carrying, only tailored to her size. Strength didn't matter if the weapon couldn't be used properly. She finished clipping on the Bowie knife as she met up with Steve, Howard, and to her surprise, Peggy Carter.

Lorelei frowned when Steve dropped a helmet on her head, strapping it down for it as Howard and Peggy discussed a plan for how they were going to drop Steve and her on the borders of the enemy line.

The plane ride was awkward, Lorelei rolling her eyes shen Howard asked Peggy out for fondue. She was confused about the bizarre shield Steve was carrying. Maybe it was for good luck. They were almost at the drop off point when shots were fired from below. Without argument, the two super soldiers jumped, Steve spreading his arms as Lorelei dove.

She wasn't careless. Practicing with weapons and new safety equipment included parachutes. Two thousand feet was close to her limit, making a drop off like they were doing probably painless, but she pulled the shoot so Steve would be able to find her after she landed.

"You can't just jump out of planes like that," Steve scolded as they stealthily ran through the woods.

"I've been testing parachutes, and we can survive a fall from about two thousand feet. We would have been fine."

She noticed the nervous glance from the man before focusing on the mission once more, "I'm not going to kick your ass until we get back to camp. Right now, you're Captain America and I'm Private Lorelei Winters. I know what I'm doing, if that helps."

Steve released a shaky breath, "Good. I didn't want to worry over you killing me in the middle of this thing."

"No, I have to kick Bucky's ass, too," she replied seriously.

"He's not a super soldier, so you can't hit him as hard," Steve reminded.

"Like hell I can't," she scoffed.

He chuckled, "It seems we've all changed since we last saw each other. I wonder how Buck's doing?"

"Probably not so great," she answered with a frown. "We need to go in there and destroy everything. Anything and everything HYDRA has to be destroyed." She looked at him from the corner of her eye, "Including people, Steve."

"You don't have to worry about me," he smiled.

The two paused when they heard trucks coming their way. They made it. She was grateful for the trucks. There was no way they would have been able to sneak by those spotlights and guards.

With ease, they boarded a truck, freezing when they realized they weren't alone. Before they could make a noise, the super soldiers sent hard punches into the men's faces and tossed them before they reached the gate.

So far so good, but when Lorelei had seen the odd glow of the weapons those men had, she knew something very dangerous was waiting inside. When the truck stopped, a man barely got to peek through the curtain before Steve punched him in the face with his patriotic shield.

Chances were, splitting up was a mistake. Still, she was small and easily looked over, making killing guards rather simple, allowing Steve to get farther in without getting noticed.

Her hair stood on the back of her neck as she snuck into a room made of metal and glowing in blue. The guards seemed more focused on the workers below than any infiltration. Killing off more guards seemed to not catch anyone's attention, but something set the guards off, making the stealth mission a chaotic destruction of the base.

She began destroying anything that was glowing blue. Anything from miniature bombs or just shooting the machines, she had to destroy it all more people seemed to appear, more weapons and chaos instilling as she did her best to continue to destroy the machines.

Her feet came to a stop as she stared at the man in front of her turning to ash. The gunman aimed his gun with the blue glow at her and pulled the trigger. When the blue light hit her, she expected pain, but she only stumbled a few steps back.

She didn't die.

Something was wrong, an odd chill running through her veins for only a moment. Pulling her gun, she shot the man, destroying the machines until only one was left. A quick analysis of the machine helped her figure out how to remove the bright cartridge, and she ran, hoping the cartridge into her pocket. Her feet came to a stop when an explosion blocked off the hallway she had aimed to take.

With ease, she jumped up, grabbing the metal railing nearly three floors above her head. Continuing her more or less guess of how to get out of the building, she continued to run, but stopped when she noticed a fast shadow heading her way. When he turned the corner, she found herself breached against the pole, her gun just under the man's chin. A sigh of relief shook from Steve's lips as they rushed on.

With no warning, Lorelei bolted across their only path to cross, an unstable beam that was ready to break under the shaking building and intense heat from the explosions below. She stretched out her hand as the injured man neared her. When the beams began to collapse, he jumped, grabbing onto her arm.

She easily pulled him up, gently pushing him to the side as Steve demanded they leave him behind. "Steven Grant Rogers, if you do not get over here now, I will jump over there and throw your sorry ass!" Lorelei threatened.

Steve decided to take the risk and jump. With a running start and wildly flailing arms, he managed to make it when the injured man and Lorelei grabbed him, pulling him onto the pathway.

"Lovie!"

Her eyes followed his pointing finger to a man with a red face and no nose. He looked like a red skull, bulging eyes included, but his freakishly monster face didn't bother her as much as the blue cube in his hands.

That. She needed that.

She had a gun, but she jumped, Bowie knife in hand, stabbing through the elevator as it began to rise. The metal had been softened just barely by the heat as she shoved her knife deeper, slicing a hole into the door, large enough for her to reach in. Using all her strength, she forced a hole into the door and looked back to Steve and his injured friend.

"There's an exit here, go that way," she yelled over another explosion, pointing at the exit and jumping into the elevator shaft.

The elevator was starting to come down again, so she climbed out, jumping into the top of the elevator as it continued to descend. She almost felt sorry for what she was about to do. When the elevator came to a stop, she shoved her foot through the roof, effectively destroying the top entirely, allowing her to fall to the ground. It had startled the man enough to make him lose papers from his briefcase, but he still managed to crawl out from under Lorelei and get into the massive car.

Sneering, she gathered up the papers, shoving them into her shirt as she jumped at the car that had sped out of the garage. With a calming breath, she pulled a gun, aiming it carefully at the car and pulling the trigger. The moment the bullet hit the car, something caught fire, but he still managed to escape.

It was a dangerous bullet, just a shock fire in case important information needed to be found, which was the case. With a huff, she walked around the burning building, looking for any sign of life.

The first twenty people she found were HYDRA soldiers that ended up dead after a bullet to the head. When she heard an American accent, she sighed in relief, stumbling from the shadows after tripping over a hidden sniper HYDRA soldier.

Officially fed up, she pulled a gun, shooting the man in the head and walking away, only for it to explode a second later, gore splattering her back. The wonderful smell of gun smoke, bombs, and sweat wrapped around her, shortly followed by the dreadful stench from her back.

She heard a gun behind her, so she drew hers, pointing it back at the man, ready to fire.

"A HYDRA agent survived!"

"Dammit," she grumbled, tossing her gun to the side as she fell to her knees, waiting for Steve to get her.

She was surprised by how sturdy her uniform had been as she fell to the ground, after a man pushed her down with his foot. Having someone's disgusting boot on her neck was not ideal, but at least she didn't have to look at the eyeball that was apparently stuck to the back of her shirt and was staring back at them.

"You said a HYDRA agent?" She heard Steve from the back of the quieting crowd. "I can't believe he would have a woman here."

Her eyes met Steve's as he stepped from the crowd of soldiers. "What the hell were you thinking?! You could have died!"

The five soldiers that had her pinned down were tossed back as she got to her feet. She opened her mouth, ready to yell and argue with him. Rather than be disrespectful, she simply bowed her head, "Won't happen again, sir."

Her eyes moved to the tree just above them. Steve looked up as well, "You can't make that."

"I've jumped up the side of a ten story building. Just because you haven't tried it doesn't mean it isn't possible," she replied, easily jumping to the branch, grabbing on and pulling herself up.

Taking a few steps back, she knew she had disappeared into where even straining their eyes, they wouldn't be able to find her. Still, she noticed Steve looking at the shadows trying to find her. "Once the wounded are tended to, we're heading out," he announced, cupping his hands so she could hear.

"Steve, you don't have to yell," she replied patiently. "Want me to scout ahead?"

"No, we need more medical supplies. Think you can find some?"

She pulled the papers from her shirt and dropped them, "Protect that paper. I managed to get it from that short guy with the glasses."

With ease, she jumped from the branch, over the crowd of soldiers, landing at the fiery entrance of the base. She wished he had been more specific about medical supplies. Would this place even need medical supplies? That guy was a leather coated skull.

Shuddering' she stepped into the fire, taking the stairs down. It was surprisingly cool, despite the inferno above. It would probably cave in in a few minutes, so she had to be quick.

Humming, she nonchalantly moved from room to room, looking at all the chains and torture chambers. Her feet came to a stop in front of a goldmine. There was more than enough medical supplies, but the books were familiar. The text was that same language of the papers she had picked up. It wouldn't take her twenty years to translate that handful of papers.

She beamed at the convenient duffle bag, grabbing it and shoving first aid kits and books on top of the potentially dangerous items in the bottom. Pleased with her find, Lorelei sauntered out of the building, finding a perturbed Captain America, pacing in front of the building.

"Guess what I found," Lorelei announced as she headed to Steve's side.

Before she could brag about her findings, the large man hugged her, wrapping her in sweat and soot. "You are going to be the death of me," he whispered as he pushed her back, looking her over. "How are you not dead?"

"Where's that paper?"

Dropping the bag, she took the papers, her back to the fire so she could read the confusing language. "Medical stuff and other sketchy things are in there," she told him as she pulled the eight books from the bag and walked away to let him handle that.

"Winters, I need you on stitches," Steve ordered amused by the girl's groan.

"Cap has some favoritism to you," one of the soldiers noted as she gently cleaned the wound she needed to stitch together, glancing at the numbered card.

"Okay," she replied the needle over a small flame to sterilize it. "Deep breath."

"Don't worry, doll. I can handle-Mother fu-"

Ignoring the rest of his pain, she continued sewing, like she used to do, though she knew it wasn't exactly the same. Placing a bandage over it, she handed him his shirt, "Next!"

Tossing the gloves, she grabbed a new pair, cleaning the cut in front of her face. Running the needle through the fire, she readied herself for another suturing, "Deep breath."

The man jumped away from the needle, staring in horror as he pulled his pants up, "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

After a blank look, she trashed her gloves, grabbing a new pair, "Next!"

"I hope that didn't bother you too much," the man in front of her said as she began to clean the wound, looking at the number on his card.

"What didn't bother me," she asked, cleaning the needle over the fire, "Deep breath."

He sat up a bit straighter, shuddering as the needle went through his skin on his chest. "You know, having his...in your face like that."

"Is that what it was? With it being so small, I didn't really notice."

Her patient had fallen to tears, looking at the glaring man next to him, "You did that to yourself."

"Alright, where is the next one?" He turned so she could start working on his bicep.

"You know, you're cute," he commented as she finished sewing that wound shut.

"The battlefield is hardly the place to flirt," she replied. "Where's your next one?"

He turned his back to her, "If not the battlefield, when? Only women at camp are interested in good ol' Captain America. Or have you been won over by America's hero?"

She paused for a moment, "There's nothing to be won. The ones I loved the most..." She placed the bandage over the suture, "Next!"

She caught Steve's look from the corner of her eye as she moved onto her next patient. No comment, wise crack or flirt could bring another word from her. By the time the sun had started to rise, the soldiers that needed stitches had been taken care of and they were on their way. Everyone able to carry had a weapon in their hand, Lorelei included.

Sitting on the top of a truck, she had placed her gun in her lap to read the confusing notes and books to figure out why the Norse mythology was so important to HYDRA. As more words became clear, the odd story of the Tesseract became known. Her sketchy duffle bag had come with many presents, including a tiny notebook with more words she needed to translate as well as a pen so she could make her own notes in the books.

She scratched her head as she read over the notes written by a timid hand. Someone had angrily scratched out the word magic and written science as boldly as he could, some parts of the paper having tiny holes where the pen nearly ripped it. At the top, written by the same anger was a reminder, MAGIC IS SCIENCE WE DO NOT YET UNDERSTAND

Lorelei would be willing to debate that this Tesseract business was dangerous, seemingly uncontrollable by man. She had been shot with its power, and there were many Tesseract powered weapons around her. Howard was going to lose his mind when he found something beyond his understanding.

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the blue cartridge that had started to ice over. Frost giants had been mentioned a few times, enemies of Oden. She humored the thought of being a descendant of the monstrous race, the ice thickening as she thought about the odd ability.

Putting the cartridge back in her pocket, she focused on her hand, a small whirlwind blowing around in her palm until snowflakes began to form and float in the wild currents. When she thought of having super powers, she thought of hard training, but she got to surpass all of that with the super soldier serum. Was this the same?

It was hard to get used to, but that was to be expected. It wasn't natural at all. Sighing, she turned her attention to the darkening sky. They would be stopping soon, camping for the night so they would have the strength to fight if an enemy attacked.

"Winters! Check the wounded," Steve called.

Strapping her gun down, she jumped off the truck, placing all her work inside the truck. Everyone with serious injuries lined up, letting her look at their stitches and change their bandages.

"You know, doll, you could sit with us tonight," a man winked.

"I'm afraid I have standards," she replied as she inspected the sutures of another soldier that started laughing.

"You should stop talking, Lopez. She's already seen more of you than she needed to, and you're just digging your grave with a chance with her," her current patient said with a crooked smile.

"No one has a chance with me, kid," Lorelei clarified.

"I like those odds," he smirked down at her as she gently ran her fingers over his arm.

His confidence made her laugh, "Is this how you win every girl's heart?"

"Why? Is it working?"

She looked up at him, his face dangerously close to hers, "No."

All the men laughed at his failed flirting. He winked, "Well, we'll just have to change that, won't we? Everyone calls me Sarge."

Once all the men had been taken care of and fed, Lorelei was put on watch, gun ready for anything to come their way. Of their two nights of travel so far, nothing had happened, despite traveling on open road. The silence gave Lorelei time to think and play with her bizarre ice ability.

A distant rumble caught her attention, making the powdery snow fall from her hand as she stood. The other man that stood guard couldn't hear them, so she headed out to destroy the threat before it came.

Jumping into a tree for a better vantage point, she realized just how much was coming their way. Three trucks, two tanks, and a small army of HYDRA agents were walking toward the camp. She had five minutes.

Even with access to the Tesseract powered weapons, Lorelei took on the army with only a knife. Starting from the back, she easily managed to slit all forty throats of the foot soldiers before breaking into the trucks and killing their passengers and drivers. Questions were pushed to the back of her mind as she ripped the top of the tank off, killing the three men inside before moving to the next tank and doing the same.

She headed back to camp, stretching as she looked at the sleeping watch guard. Thankfully, nothing else had happened or she would have gotten an earful from Steve. Her attention dazed out as she watched a small snow flurry blow in front of her face.

When the camp started waking, the watchman did as well, yawning and stretching before he stood up. Lorelei narrowed her eyes when she saw the genuine shock on the man's face as he looked at the lively camp.

The gun going off silenced the camp as the watchman fell to the ground, head exploding shortly after the bullet penetrated his head. She walked up to him, ignoring Steve calling to her. Kicking the gun away, she searched the blood soaked body, mentally preparing for a serious backlash that could already be heard behind Steve.

Reaching into the man's pocket, she pulled out a small thing she had seen before, a transmitter with HYDRA on it. He had every reason to be surprised after sending the signal they had stopped for the night to the small army that had come after them.

"Steve, you're not going to believe this," Sarge called.

She dropped the transmitter to the ground, taking a few steps back and shooting it, jumping farther away when it exploded. She was a bit disappointed that there were traitors in their midst and that she would have to search every single soldier and all of their items to make sure there wasn't another hidden in plain sight.

"Winters!"

She holstered her gun, following Steve's voice. The morning frost was stained red with blood, the air almost metallic from the gore. Looking at Steve then the small army, she wasn't sure why he had called her over.

"What the hell happened last night?" Steve asked, watching her scratch the back of her head. "You're covered in blood!"

"Well, I heard something, so I decided to check it out. They were pretty far away, but still not far enough for me to be able to get you in time, so I killed them."

"Looks like they're all HYDRA," a soldier announced.

"I don't want to say it, but-"

"Search everyone and everything. If there are more trackers, they'll be able to ambush us again, and you can't handle another night like that," Steve told her.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not. You haven't eaten in days, and you just took out a small army. You're barely able to stand, Lovie."

She hadn't even realized she was leaning on a tree to keep herself vertical. When had this happened? Blaming it on the ice power she had been using, she pushed herself off the tree. "Fine. I'll start searching the men."

The men lined up, grumbling then smirking when she reached into their pockets, front and back, tapping down their legs as well.

"Who's going to pat you down?" Sarge asked.

"Why? Are you volunteering?"

He looked stunned, Lorelei glancing for his reaction as she finished patting down his legs. She stood, looking up at him, "Step up your game, Sarge. It's hardly any fun if you can't keep up."

"And how do I do that when I don't know your name?"

"Lorelei Winters. Sorry, I don't have a neat title like you."

"That's alright," he leaned down a bit, blue eyes focusing on hers, "Angel Eyes."

She gave a small sigh of relief, "I can deal with that."

Angel Eyes stuck. Every soldier after him decided they needed to place their opinion in on the matter, some debating that blue eyes were decisively the color of an angel's eyes, though others believed the mixture of browns and greens in her irises resembled that of some goddess of nature.

When the pat down and over all search of the camp had been completed, Steve found her, enjoying the new nickname. "I like it. It really suits you, you know."

"With how many people told me that Blue was the default of an angel, it seems you should be Captain Angel Eyes, not Captain America."

He laughed, "Look, Lovie, I don't want you looking at those books or walking today. Get some rest. We'll need you at your best."

"You know I can't sleep," she said, watching a soldier walk by. "Resting won't do much good."

He sighed, "Don't make me do this, Lovie."

She crossed her arms over her chest, "You're not a real captain."

"But, I'm a real Sergeant," Sarge said as he walked to Steve's side. "Go, that's an order."

"Dammit," she grumbled, walking to the nearest truck and jumping to the top.

Folding her arms behind her head, she sighed, watching the dark clouds overhead. It was bizarre how she could suddenly tell snow clouds from rain clouds. Frost giants...how stupid could those legends be?

"Hey, Lovie," a distant voice called from somewhere beyond Lorelei's consciousness.

She felt so groggy as she slowly opened her eyes, blinking at the blurry world. Rubbing her eyes, she blinked at the blond talking to her, "Oh, hey Steve."

He smiled, "How do you feel?"

After she stretched, she managed to stand and stretch the stiffness from her back, "Ready to take on the world."

"How about eating first?" He suggested as he moved out her way.

She slid off the truck, stumbling a bit before she gained her footing again. He laughed as he helped her stand, "You were more graceful when you were blind."

She followed him to a group sitting around a campfire eating something out of a can.

"Well, good morning, Angel Eyes," Sarge greeted.

"You look like you feel better," a man named Jim pointed out, opening a can of whatever and handing it to her.

"Thanks, I think," she replied, smiling at the weird food inside the can. "I don't think I've seen this before."

"Well, from what Captain America told us, there's a lot you haven't seen," another man by the name of Jacques pointed out, his French accent radiating with every word.

"There was no way to cover you being able to take out a small army of HYDRA agents as well as ripping off the top of some tanks," Steve explained.

"Because luck just couldn't be the answer," she grumbled as she took a bite of the weird vinegar cabbage she was unable to pronounce.

"I can't push on luck when you haven't slept in almost seven months, and God knows when you ate last."

She pointed her fork at him, "That's besides the point. You could have let me tell them." She directed her attention back to Jim, "You're...I've never seen you before."

He laughed at her awkward way of asking his race, introducing himself as Jim Morita and that he was of Asian descent.

She was also confused by the man they lovingly called Dum Dum, who looked like a leprechaun she had seen in a book. She had never seen red hair such a ginger color, which had confused her on what had happened to the descendent of Ireland.

Gabe Jones described himself to be African-American, how he appreciated the lack of prejudice coming from the formerly blind girl.

Jacques Dernier explained his reasoning of being with the American military, though he was a member of the French Resistance. She loved listening to the short side conversations he had with Gabe, who could also speak French.

Another man with an accent that reminded her of Agent Peggy Carter was there as well, a British man by the name of James Falsworth. His mustache reminded her of Howard, a comment he didn't take offense.

Another man that described himself as African-American, Samuel Sawyer was late to the party, pulling a babyfaced man named Jonathan Juniper with him.

"You know, I've been hearing about the woman with us, but this is the first time I've actually seen you. You're just as pretty as they've been saying," Jonathan complimented.

She smiled at the awkward compliment, but kept her tone even so he wouldn't feel so awkward, "Thank you."

"How's your research going?" Steve asked, making the woman frown.

"Do you actually care, or are you going to make fun of me again?"

He smiled, "It's a little funny."

She glanced at the men sitting around her, "I'd rather not discuss it."

"What? After everything you've searched, you still don't trust us?" Dum Dum asked as she stood.

She gave him a blank look, "It hardly matters how many times I search you. I still haven't figured out the notes." Sighing, she ran her fingers through her disgusting hair, "Whoever HYDRA is firmly believe in Norse mythology. There's Oden, the god of Asgard, his son, Thor, the god of Thunder, and Loki, the god of Chaos. Oden has this room of treasures, and one of its jewels is called the Tesseract. I don't know how it ended up on Earth, but HYDRA managed to find i and pull its power from the stone, using it to create these weapons that can obliterate people. It warns throughout the legends that Men cannot handle its power. HYDRA did not listen to that warning."

"Well, it seems like they've managed to take control of its power", Jim said.

"The Tesseract isn't the jewel," she began drawing in the dirt with her finger, "The jewel is in this cube I don't know what will happen if the cube breaks, but it's basically diluting the power of the gem right now. Direct contact with the gem would kill someone."

"Cap, what part of her story was funny?" Sam asked.

He smirked as Lorelei reached into her pocket, pulling out the iced over cartridge. His amusement faded to concern, "It's thicker than last time."

"I was shot with the Tesseract gun. That being said, I also learned about Frost giants. It was a joke, at first, but every day, it's getting stronger and easier to control. Within the next month, I'll probably be able to create a blizzard or something."

"You think you're a frost giant?" Sam asked.

"Worse," she said as she rubbed her terrible drawing out with her foot, "I think I'm a descendent of a god."

She wasn't surprised when Gabe decided he didn't believe a word of it and left to get some sleep. Slowly, they left until only Sarge and Steve remained.

"A blizzard, huh?" Steve asked as she opened her hand, a small flurry appearing in her palm. "Hey, you are getting good at that."

The snow floated from her hands, wrapping around the fire, but not melting. She wiped a small tear from her eyes, "I, uh, learned that the Tesseract had a protector sent with it to Earth, but something happened and the protector had to return home. The sole reason that family existed was to protect the Tesseract, and someone in the lineage failed. I think that's why it didn't kill me."

"Think you could get hit again?" Steve asked.

"I don't want to try it," she replied with a small smile. "I doubt I could go two for two. It didn't hurt nearly as bad as the guy that got obliterated made it seem."

The two smiled at the crappy joke, Sarge gently placing his hand on hers, "Whatever happens, we'll be by your side, Angel Eyes."

"I hope so," she said quietly.

Giving her hand a gentle squeeze, Sarge left the two super soldiers alone at the small fire. She could feel Steve watching her, analyzing the way her body was positioned. He knew it all too well.

"Sometimes I forget how much younger you are," Steve admitted. "You just turned twenty. You should be in Brooklyn, enjoying a night out. I remember how you laughed when you danced with Bucky or cried when someone offered a dance, then backed away when they found out you were blind." He chuckled, "I remember how you used to accept drinking challenges from anyone that dared to take you on, and always winning by a landslide, still practically sober. Then, you had this meltdown after drinking two bottles of whiskey. You begged us to let you go. You were an invalid, and you didn't matter. You passed out when we got home. That morning, we heard you in the bathroom, and we pushed it off as a hangover." He shook his head, trying to get the images to go away, "We thought we had lost you. We didn't take you in out of the goodness of our hearts, that's for sure, but I don't think we realized how much you meant to us until then."

"It's not like you to talk of the past. What's wrong?"

"Just a lot on my mind. What else have you found out about the Tesseract?"

She intertwined her fingers, resting her elbows on her knees as she stared at the fire, "If we don't get it from HYDRA, no one will be able to stand against them. They'll kill us, Steve. Specifically us. We were created for war. And," her voice lowered a bit as she tried to keep her emotions in check, "whether I like it or not, we have to fight until we can't. Perhaps Doctor Erkstine wanted it to be this way. Someone willing to die for his country, and someone willing to die getting her revenge."

"Revenge?"

"Do you remember when you left for Jersey?"

"Yeah, but I don't see how that's relevant," he replied, brows furrowed in confusion.

She managed to crack a smile, "I followed you. It took two men to hold me back from getting to you."

His eyes widened, "I remember that. Those men were covered in blood."

"I broke the sink and fell into the porcelain. I managed to get the pieces out and a bandage job that would have made Bucky proud, but they still broke when I got to the station. My revenge is not focused on you or Bucky, but this war that dared to take you from me."

"So, you became a weapons specialist to try to end it faster."

"More or less," she replied with a shrug. "Now, I'm a weapon, like I'm supposed to be."

"Lovie, are you okay? You killed a lot of men."

"They forfeit their lives when they signed up for this, just like we did. I can't allow myself to feel guilty when they have just as much reason to kill me as I do them."

That was the lie she was forcing herself to believe. She had met so many people, none deserving the painful deaths that awaited in the battlefield. Now that she had stumbled across her potential, she couldn't help but wonder what that held in store for her future.

Frosty air left her lips as she watched snow fall in front of her face. It had gotten cold, even Steve pulling his new jacket closer. She allowed a smile before her gaze moved to the flames, "Get some rest, Steve. An army isn't worth much without their captain."

He laughed dryly, "Cute. What do you plan to do the rest of the night?"

"Probably just sit here. I was so excited to learn more about the tesseract, and now, I'm afraid of it."

"Afraid? Why?"

"We're human. We crave power, and I don't want the Tesseract to become some obsession like it has become with HYDRA."

"If everything you know is true, then we can find a way to get the Tesseract back to Oden. You're some..god descendent or something, so you'll be able to get it back, right?"

"That was speculation. However, theoretically, that would make sense. If there was a way to get in touch with this Oden, I should be able to somehow."

She looked over her shoulder as Sarge lifted a blanket, putting his arm around her and pulling her to his side to keep himself warm. "For someone with ice powers, you're really warm," he commented as she grabbed the edge of the blanket, cocooning the two together while Steve laughed.

A warm smell washed by making her eyes heavy. She knew that scent, musky and sweet like a spring breeze. She rested her head on Sarge's shoulder, nuzzling into his neck.

"Tired?" He asked gently, clearly smiling.

"Just homesick," she replied, relishing the scent.

"Happens to the best of us, Angel Eyes."

Her body became too heavy when he put his arm around her, gently laying her down where her head was in his lap. The position felt familiar as he ran his fingers through her hair.

The shameless flirting was soothing, reminding her of Bucky and Steve. Despite the tears that fell from her eyes, she smiled, enjoying the nostalgic feeling of a tired day in Brooklyn.

Morning was rough, checking bandages and starting everyone down the road again. Sniggering could be heard throughout the group since everyone woke up to Sarge and Steve debating on how to wake Lorelei up without causing a scene. The men enjoyed teasing the shameless flirt, joking that he was actually getting ready to settle with one girl instead of a different one every night.

"At least Angel Eyes is classy," Dum Dum laughed loudly.

Lorelei had missed most of the comments, her eyes moving to the Sarge as she stood behind him. She had dreamed of Bucky and Steve, running through the streets of Brooklyn on a rainy night. Though she had never seen Bucky, Sarge had been her visual stand in for her lost friend.

The walk became miserable as a winter drizzle covered them, soaking and freezing them. Many of the men wanted to snuggle up and keep Lorelei warm, but she refused all blankets and coats. A lot of pain had been brought out with the last shared warmth, and she didn't want to experience again.

The drizzle turned into a terrible pour, making everyone more miserable. Lorelei frowned as she watched the drops pool into her palm and turn into a slush that fell heavily to the ground. Why did they have to be doing this in November?

They didn't bother to stop for camp as the rain continued to fall well into the next morning. By the time noon rolled around, the soldiers had returned to their base, tired, wet, and relieved. Soldiers she had met welcomed her back, hugging, kissing, and laughing as they moved from soldier to soldier, looking for their closest friends, but happy to see their friends home, nonetheless.

"Let's hear it for Captain America!"

She with the rest of the soldiers, cheered for their friend. Their new leader had been placed on them, and things were going to turn around. After a decent meal and a nice shower, she was given regular Soldier apparel since she had nothing else to wear. Dog tags had been placed on her bed, symbolizing her official part in the army.

Seeing her name engraved on the metal made everything hit home. If she died, this would be her only identification. Sighing, she adorned the necklace and sat on her bed, rubbing her face with her hands. She was exhausted. This had been her first time truly using the abilities she was supposed to have. Officially able to claim the super soldier status, she laid down and closed her eyes. Research could wait.

"Lovie?"

"Shut up, Steve. The shop doesn't open for another hour," she grumbled, rolling onto her back, away from the man.

"Actually, if would be time for you to close shop if we were in Brooklyn," Steve replied, a smile in his voice.

Reality slowly began to sink in as she opened her eyes, blinking away the blur she still wasn't used to. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes, "Damn."

Her eyes moved to the large man standing by her, "Steve? Why are you in here?"

"We're going out tonight, and they didn't believe me when I said you could outdrink them."

She yawned, "I'm trying to be classy, not trashy. Evidentially, you didn't tell them how fast I can down two bottles of whiskey before I start making questionable life choices."

"So, you're in?"

She was ready to decline, but found herself nodding instead, "I'll meet you there."

Reaching under her bed, she pulled out a box with FROM HOWARD written in classy, but scratchy script that she was all too familiar with. He always gave her clothing as parting gifts, never failing to try to make her dress as fashionably as possible.

She was thankful for the navy color of the dress. The quarter sleeves did a decent job covering her scars, the skirt reaching her knees. The tailored dress was for dancing, not just an evening of fun.

Once she finished her makeup, she placed a few bobbypins in her hair to keep it from falling in her face. Her hair had little to be desired, unable to be fluffed or curled like the styles of the day demanded. Why Steve and Bucky always told her she had beautiful hair was beyond her.

With a sigh, she stepped from her tent, following other traveling men at a distance as they headed into town. Her destination seemed rather quiet to have so many men in there, but she quickly realized why when Peggy walked out, a smug smile on her lips.

Once the noise had started to return, Lorelei stepped into the bar, sneaking to the back.

"I'm invisible," a man said, distraught. "I-I'm turning into you. It's like a horrible dream."

Steve clasped the man's shoulder, "Maybe she has a friend."

Steve smiled, "Hey, Lovie. Feel like dancing?"

She laughed, "You don't even know how to dance."

"I wasn't talking about me. Peggy turned him down," Steve grinned as he placed his hand on Sarge's shoulder.

"She's a pretty girl, Steve, but I think Sarge can do better than her," Lorelei smiled, trying to cheer up the sergeant from his slump.

"I'll say," Sarge said as he stood, walking by to speak with a red head that had walked in.

"God, he's an idiot," Steve sighed as he took the seat by Lorelei.

She smirked, "So, where are the men that decided I can't hold my liquor?"

Lorelei grinned as she put down another empty pint, her eyes focused on Dum Dum, the last competitor in their drinking game. Eleven pints in and Dum Dum had just started to get rosy cheeks while Lorelei could probably snipe a bee from the air.

"You're turning pink," Lorelei laughed.

"Shut up, Angel Eyes," Dum Dum said as he was given another pint.

She took the pint, looking at the dark brown brew before looking at the man that had brought it to her, "Out of beer?"

"Steve said your weakness is whiskey, so we decided to give it a go," he said with a smirk.

"Wait, Dum Dum can't handle this much liquor," she said, hoping to stop the Irishman.

He was already half way through his when she started drinking hers. She finished hers just as Dum Dum fell over, blacking out from the amount of whiskey he had inhaled. Smiling, she jumped up, immediately regretting it as she stumbled, grabbing onto the nearest solider.

Sarge gave her a kind smile, "You should probably sit for a bit."

Steve frowned when his friend took a seat at the bar, ordering water to help cool herself off. "Lorelei, why did you drink so much? Last time you did that, the stray cat in our alleyway had died."

"I was hoping to forget," she sniffled, slurring slightly as she rested her head against his arm. "I'm a terrible person, Steve. I...I didn't even want to help him. I was so selfish, so stupid. He was my friend, Steve. I loved him so much. And, I love you, Steve. But, what are we supposed to do? We didn't find him, Steve." She looked at him, "We have to go back. We have to go back for him, Steve."

"Who are you talking about?"

She furrowed her eyebrows, "Bucky, of course. That's who we looked for and didn't find."

Steve stared at her for a moment, "I can't tell if you're being serious."

"Of course, I'm serious! Why would I joke about that?"

He pointed at the man dancing with a brunette, whispering something into her ear, making her cheeks pink. "No, that's Sarge," Lorelei told him.

"Lovie, you're drunk. You need to trust me. That is Bucky."

She shook her head, "No, Bucky would have asked me to dance by now."

Steve looked at his suddenly sober friend, "Where are you going?"

"Back to camp," she replied with a smile. "I've got some research to do."

She kissed his cheek and left, taking a deep breath of the frigid night air.

"Hey, where are you going?"

She turned to see Sarge standing just outside the bar. He almost looked panicked, but he was trying to hide it.

"Back to camp," she replied.

"I didn't get to dance with the prettiest girl in there," he said as he approached her.

"I don't feel like dancing, Sarge. Steve...kinda ruined my night."

"And how did America's greatest ruin your night?" He asked, gently placing his hands on her arms, gently rubbing them to help her stay warm.

"A dear friend of ours died, but he kept saying...you're him. But, that's not right. Bucky...he always saved me a dance."

"Angel Eyes, I did save you a dance. It's only been three hours. I wanted you to be sober for our dancing, just like always," he whispered.

She smiled slightly, "Thank you, but I can't. I hope you find who you're looking for."

"Yeah, she's walking away, just like I did," she heard him scolding himself for his actions.


	2. Chapter 2

Lorelei stood outside her tent. Her first Christmas was a white Christmas. The men were giddy with excitement as gifts from home were passed out. Hearing the roaring laughter as well as the sniffles from happy tears warmed her heart. Of course, she had gotten Steve something, and he convinced her to get Sarge something since he had no one waiting for him.

Not anymore, Steve had clarified.

Sarge was the most flirty man she had ever met, besides Howard Stark and Bucky Barnes. He had a charming smile and beautiful eyes that had a siren's call. Any sort of relationship with that man would end in heartache. With that sort of reputation, she couldn't imagine anyone waiting for him.

Every time she came to that conclusion, she would remember her relationship with Bucky. The man never had any romantic interest in her, but she would have waited for her dear friend. If Bucky had someone, Sarge deserved someone as well. She wasn't interested, but she was happy to oblige her friend's request.

She turned when she heard her name, squeaking when she was suddenly snatched off her feet and spun around in Sarge's tight embrace. Her feet roughly hit the snow when he put her down, making her stumble slightly until he hugged her more appropriately. "Thank you, Lorelei."

She heard a quiet click as Sarge stepped back, smirking down at her, "It looks lovely on you."

She followed his gaze to her chest where a silver locket rested. She smiled at the charming heart shaped locket, delicately decorated in swirled ivy. Popping it open, she laughed at the pictures. One side was Steve in his Captain America costume, the other side was Sarge without his uniform, his flirty smirk pointed directly at whoever was taking the picture.

He looked younger, or the war had made him look older. It made her chest constrict that he was there, not Bucky. Closing it, she held it to her chest, smiling up at him, "Thank you, Sarge."

The shadow of disappointment on his face was washed away with another beaming smile when Steve walked up, smiling at the two, "Thanks, you two. I didn't know you knew how to knit."

She laughed at the Captain America themed scarf she had made him. He was wearing it so proudly.

His eyes went to the locket on her chest, "Like the pictures? It took me a while to get Bucky's picture. Mr. Stark had to find that one for me."

She watched as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small, folded picture. Carefully opening it, he passed the image onto her, making her cover her mouth. She could practically smell the picture that had been taken in a diner they frequented. A milkshake craving washed over her as she studied the three individuals at the table.

Sitting next to a girl was Steve, scrawny and thin, unlike the man that stood in front of her. His hair was parted and gelled, still awkwardly getting used to how much gel to put in his hair and how to style it. The shirt he wore was dirty and wrinkled, the sleeves torn.

She remembered that day as the day they nearly destroyed the soup kitchen. Nothing had gone right all morning. The power had gone out and they had no hot water, which put everyone in a mood. Bucky had a job in construction at the time, while Steve and Lorelei spent the mornings at the soup kitchen. A fight had broken out that day, and somehow Steve managed to catch his sleeve on fire. It was a miracle no one died.

The girl she recognized as herself. Eyes hidden behind large sunglasses, she still smiled despite her rough appearance. Her hair was sticking in many different directions, singed from the fire she had tried to put out.

Sitting across from the two wrecks was the one and only Bucky. He wore a tank top, his shirt crumpled in the seat by him. Of the trio, he was probably the cleanest, despite the dirt and dust that covered him. Still, he had his flirty smirk directed at the camera, mirroring the one in her locket.

Her grip tightened on the locket as she looked from the picture to Sarge, who she was almost ready to accept was Bucky. He gave her a kind smile, "So? Do I pass?"

Her lip quivered, "You...left me."

His smile was gone as he embraced the sobbing woman, "I know."

She tightly gripped his shirt, trying to calm down. The reminder of worthlessness caused her more pain than she knew she could experience. Steve easily caught Bucky when she pushed him away. Breathing became a chore as she stepped into her tent, hoping the isolation would calm her nerves and mind.

She wanted the pain to stop. Her head was foggy and heavy, thumping horribly from the stress and emotional break. Her stomach cramped, chest constricting with each breath. It was too much, so she laid on her bed, trying to focus on anything other than Bucky Barnes.

"I thought you didn't sleep," Steve said as Lorelei began to stir.

"Right now, I think thats all I know how to do," she answered as she sat up.

"Bucky's been worried to death about you, Lovie. We both were. You managed to forgive me, are you ready to forgive him?"

She childishly crossed her arms over her chest, "He knows the rules."

He smirked as he looked at a box by the bed, "Why do you think he got you that?"

Frowning slightly, she reached for the medium sized box. She knew the weight all too well when she picked it up. With a bated breath, she opened the box. The dark green dress made her sigh in relief. Bucky always threatened to make her wear a red dress so she could be the center of attention. Running her fingers over the fabric, she smiled. He really wanted to make it up to her.

"He said he wanted to wait until next Saturday. New Years seems to be pretty important to him," Steve told her as she closed the box.

She smiled slightly, "So I get to be mad at him until Saturday?"

"Lovie, what do you plan to do?"

"I plan to be mad at him until Saturday. It will be fun."

Steve sighed, smiling at her, "I'm glad you didn't punch him."

"Yet," she finished with a sly smile. "We got the rest of the week to do this."

Rather than actively annoy Bucky, she kept to her tent, playing with the Tesseract guns. With the limited knowledge she had, she managed to figure out more, carefully manipulating the energy to see what it was capable of doing. She was surprised when she found the energy produced heat instead of absorbing it. With the new source of heat, the soldiers would definitely be safer since they were practically freezing every night, especially with the snow.

New Year's Eve, she spent most of her time going to the different tents, putting the blue orbs in the center of the tent where the warmth could be reached everywhere. With an entire week without sleep, she was crashing when she got back to her own tent, falling onto her bed, falling asleep.

"Lovie, are you going to meet Bucky?" Steve asked as he shook her awake.

She grumbled into her pillow before looking at him, "I created a new source of heat, and you thank me by reminding me of a date?"

"You would be mad if I didn't," he winked as he started to leave, "Oh, he said to leave your hair down."

She scratched her head, not looking at him as he left. Bucky used to tell her of his dream girl with the most beautiful curls. He was so hellbent on that type of woman, he wouldn't date a woman with straight hair. She felt a bit self conscious, absentmindedly touching her lifeless hair. Why she suddenly feared humiliation had caught her off guard. He would abandon her a thousand times over before he humiliated her in public.

Sighing, she got dressed, slipping into the emerald dress and tugging at the sleeves to better cover her scarred arms. Her heels had much to be desired for the snowy walk to the dance hall, but she could handle it.

Just as she had finished her lipstick, Steve walked in, smiling, "Ready to go?"

"My own escort," she chuckled a bit. "Why aren't you with Peggy?"

"She wasn't exactly happy of the idea of me walking into town with two women, so she told me to get you first."

"She should really rein in that jealousy. It's very unbecoming of a woman in her place."

"Because you never get jealous," he laughed as he wrapped his arm around hers, leading her to town.

"Never," she admitted proudly.

"Oh? Remember when Bucky wasted our bus money to win a bear for Dolores?"

"I wasn't jealous. It was good money wasted on trash," she said as she grinned. "There was no reason to be jealous of any of Bucky's girls. Especially on New Years. He'll forget about me before the end of the night."

"Lovie, he's not who he used to be. Besides, any time he needed to apologize to you, he made sure you were the center of his attention the entire night."

She felt self conscious as a brown haired woman passed by, glancing over her shoulder at Lorelei. Her feet stopped as she looked up at Steve, "I don't think I can do this."

Steve frowned, "What are you talking about?"

"I...I can't, Steve. I'm...not what Bucky wants and he shouldn't be forced into this."

"Lorelei, you're scaring yourself. It's just Bucky. Have some fun."

Despite her sudden realization, she allowed herself to be tugged along. When they reached the smoky bar, her legs were trembling. It was crowded, people carefully moving around like pieces of a slide puzzle. There were fewer people in the back, though it was still packed.

Her breath hitched when she saw him. His brown hair had been combed and parted, no hair gel to be seen. His uniform had been cleaned, yet he looked so casual, sitting at the bar, nursing on a glass of whiskey the barkeep had given him. He looked nervous.

He took a timid glance in their direction before looking back, his eyes meeting hers. She felt sick as he made his way over to them. His nervousness had disappeared into a playful smirk as he looked her over, "Looks good on you."

She smiled slightly, shyly looking away, "Thank you."

For a moment, she was crushed between Steve and Bucky as they whispered above her before Steve winked and left. A large hand took hers, gently guiding her back to the bar where they found a small spot at the corner to talk.

"Lorelei, baby, what's wrong?" She flinched at his touch, making him pause before putting his hand down, "God, what did I do to you?"

"You didn't do anything, Bucky. I just feel so stupid," she admitted, daring a glance at him.

"Why? What happened?"

"You shouldn't be here...with me. I'm sorry I was such a child."

He was bewildered by her apology. "Who else would I spend New Years with?"

Lorelei gave him a small smile, "Anyone, Bucky. It's a special day. Spend it with someone worth your time."

He took her hands in his, gently rubbing the backs with his thumbs, "Lorelei, what happened?"

"I...I can see." Swallowing, she managed to meet his eyes, "I don't meet your standards in beauty, Bucky. There's an ocean of women here. With that smile, they'll be yours. You should find a pretty girl to spend the night with...not me."

Sighing, he gently wiped a tear from her face, "None of these insecurities tonight." She watched as he moved to stand taller, smirking down at her, "We've both grown since we last saw each other, and we've both changed. Cmon, enjoy the night with me."

He put a small glass of whiskey in front of her and winked as he drank his own. A smile found its way to her lips as she quickly swallowed the glass, "You're playing with fire, Barnes."

The drinks didn't make her forget her insecurities, but she did care less about them. Steve was right. It was just another night with Bucky. His eyes were different, though, thoughtful and distracted. That made her smirk.

"Bucky, what's on your mind?" She asked as she dismissed another offer to dance. "You're nervous about something." When he looked away, her smile began to widen, "I want to know everything about her."

"How about a dance first?" He stood, smirking at her. "You remember our agreement, right? You have to describe me."

She smiled a bit as she took his hand, letting him pull her to the dance floor. Smirking a bit, she straightened his collar, "What should I tell you about James Barnes?" She looked up at him as he gently placed his hand on her waist, pulling a bit closer so they could talk. "I suppose I should start at the beginning, huh, Sarge?"

There was a flash of sadness over his face, but still he remained curious.

"He was the best, you know? Theres a lot to like about him. He was by far the sweetest and most selfish man I have ever met. I was ten when I started living with him and Steve. I was blind and had MS, though I never told them. The only reason they took me in was to get a discount on their apartment."

"Apartments are expensive," he defended with a smile.

"Yeah, but I didn't think they would ever like me. They took care of me. I don't know where I would be without them." Smiling a bit, she closed her eyes, resting her head on his chest for a moment, "Bucky was an amazing man." A fond smile formed on her lips as she gently touched his hair, "He had the softest hair. He wasn't allowed to wear hair gel in the house in case I wanted to play with it. He hated when I did that. He said it made him sleepy and I would always do it at the worst of times. His hair was softer than a feather and smoother than silk. How could I not touch it?

"I liked his skin, too. He had these callouses on his fingers and palms from working with construction or machinery. I loved when he touched me or when I got to hug him. It really bothered him that I could tell when he was sunburned before he knew. He had some scars on his arms, most he blamed on Steve from all the fights he started.

"He had this cologne that probably summoned women to him. It really was incredible, though." She laughed a bit, blushing, "I took one of his shirts and turned it into a pillow case. I still have it.

"I think my favorite thing about him was his voice. He tried to not talk so loudly around me, because he didn't know if it hurt my ears. During thunderstorms, he would read to me to help me sleep. Sometimes, he would be too tired to read, so he would just talk until he fell asleep. One time," she laughed into his chest, "One time, he read a cereal box." She wiped a tear from her face, "He told me if the cereal wasn't so damn tasty he would never eat it again since he couldn't pronounce most of the words. The best were the mornings, though. His voice would be so deep, and he would tell me about his dreams as he drank coffee. That was the highlight of my day, every day."

She looked up at him, smirking at his blush, "Did I embarrass the great James Barnes?"

"You're playing a dangerous game, Lorelei," he replied with a playful smile. "I've been doing this a lot longer than you have."

"And how many times have you meant it?"

He moved his fingers through her hair, smiling at her flinch, "Let me tell you about Lorelei Annabelle Winters. Steve and I wanted an apartment on the ground level, and the landlord said we could get it at a discount if someone handicapped lived with us. Steve told me about Lorelei, and I wasn't so sure we should take in a ten year old, but he said it wouldn't be so bad.

"She was probably the most frightening thing I had ever seen. Covered head to toe in months worth of grime and even she couldn't remember the last time she had bathed. I had never seen a blind person before, so her eyes were scary, but they were beautiful, as well. It was almost like she had a silver moon in her eyes that would never fade. Her hair was black from dirt and grime, but Steve insisted we wash it instead of cutting it off. Steve sent me to get her some clothes, and when I came back, I didn't recognize her. That girl that had been so disgusting had turned into this adorable ten year old with the purest hair. It was the softest hair I had ever felt. We had to keep her. I knew I couldn't let any one take her from us. She would always be ours.

"We did our best to help her out, but she was the angel we needed in our bachelor lives. She wasn't afraid to try to pull her own weight. Rent was easy to pay with her there, but she insisted she helped us. The first few years were a bit rough since she was so small, but she cooked and cleaned for us. We never had another terrible breakfast or supper.

"As she grew up, she felt more obligated to help pay for everything. Steve and I bought her a dress that was far too large for her, and she managed to tailor it to her size. I think her skill surprised her, but it was definitely the best thing that had happened to Steve. He didn't look like a child in man's clothing anymore.

"I was twenty five when I was drafted, and the uniform was a bit big, so I asked her to fix it. It was the first time I had asked her to fix anything for me, and she was happy to help. She was this master at tailoring. All the guys noticed and I told them where to find her." He chuckled, "I've never seen so many men wait for something like that. A lot of them wanted to take her on dates instead of paying, but she would only accept payment. Life was good.

"We started taking her with us when we went to bars and dance halls. Strangers would supply her with alcohol, hoping to convince her to leave with them, but she never got drunk. Men would usually stop buying after two dollars worth of whiskey, and just leave her be. I taught her how to dance at home and what to expect from men outside the house, though she knew how some men would act just from meeting the soldiers. When something would upset her, she would cower behind Steve and wait until we went home. A lot of men would sweet talk her then turn her down when they found out she was blind.

He frowned a bit, "She must have really liked the guy, but one night, she managed to go through two bottles of whiskey before we got home. The moment we stepped inside, she went to her room and closed the door. She never did that. Usually the three of us would fall onto the couch and listen to the radio for a while. I had seen her cry many times, but not like that. She had never screamed or yelled at us, but that night, she was unconsolable. She wanted us to kick her out, to tell her how worthless she was. She told us that's what she deserved." He laughed dryly as he wiped a tear from her cheek, "When she told us who it was that put her so far down, I left her with Steve and found him. I beat the shit out of him. Steve got onto me when I came home, but she had already gone to bed.

He visibly paled, his grip tightening on her hand and waist, "The morning...we thought she was hungover. When...when we heard the water on the floor, we had to kick in the door. I'll never forget how that white tile had turned pink, how the tub overflowed in red. Her hair wasn't the color of the sun anymore, tainted by the disgusting crimson that was coming from her arms. Our Lorelei...my Lorelei was dying." He rested his chin on the top of her head, a shaky sigh escaping his lips as he tried to calm down. Even over the noise, she could faintly hear his racing heart and shaky breaths.

"We managed to save her, but just barely. The doctor that came wanted to give her up." Their dance stopped as he embraced her tight, "He said you weren't worth saving. That you were right, just an invalid. You were always worth it. God, were you worth it." His hand took hers and moved back to her waist. "We had to move to another apartment. We didn't tell you because we didn't want to worry you. All of our money went into that apartment. We were surprised by how much money we had. That's why the transition was so easy.

"Then, you got better. You were happier than I had ever seen. You cut back drinking, except when that stray cat in the alley died. You loved that thing. Steve and I talked about getting you a cat, but the landlord didn't allow pets.

"One day, you changed. That beaming smile was fading, and we didn't know why. We thought were losing our favorite girl again."

She remembered that change. The day she realized she had fallen for the infamous flirt, just like every other girl in Brooklyn. She was too young. He was twenty eight while she was eighteen. If someone that was twenty five was too young for him, she was out of the question. She fought every emotion, every quiver of a feeling directed toward him, and it took most of her energy to keep it secret.

A sad, pitiful laugh escaped from his trembling lips, "And what Steve said, how you were when I left...and even worse when he left."

She dared to look at him, his blue eyes barely holding tears back as he studied her. "I got better. Even got my eyesight. Might not have happened otherwise."

He smiled slightly, moving his fingers through her hair, "Yeah. You became a soldier, just like me. A damn good soldier with weird ice powers. You've created the perfect uniform, incredible weapons. With you and Steve, we can win and end this war. We'll be able to go home."

She nodded, glancing over at Steve, "Can you imagine the women that will flock to him?"

Bucky laughed, "If he ever learns how to talk to a woman."

"Maybe he'll just bring Peggy home. He won't need another woman if he commits now."

"What about you? You don't need us anymore."

"I'll always need you. I just wanted to pick up where we left off. Even though I can see, I just want to be a tailor again. I want to know you're just on the other side of the wall. I want to cook breakfast in the morning, listen to you talk about your dreams. I want to go home."

"And we will, one day. I don't want to pick up where we left off. We left you in blood and tears. Why don't we pick off from tonight? New year, new start."

She bit her lip, thinking over the terms. "Okay. From here, then."

"Cmon, let's get a drink," he said, gently leading her from the crowded dance floor back to the crowded bar.

When they took a seat, the barkeep placed two glasses of whiskey in front of them. She smiled as she sipped the whiskey, "Bucky, you haven't told me about her."

Confusion washed over his face as he lowered his glass, "What are you talking about? I just told you all about her."

She raised an eyebrow as he winked at her. Still confused, she frowned, "But, you talked about me."

He winked again, "And, what about that?"

The room suddenly felt much hotter as she looked at him, wondering if he was lying to her. His crooked smile began to grow, "That is one hell of a blush, Lorelei."

Her mouth opened a bit before she closed it, trying to form words. "Did...you mean that?"

He gently placed his cool hand against her burning cheek, "Always, Lorelei. No one can hold a candle to you."

"And the age difference?" She asked.

He nodded, "I've thought a lot about it. I'm okay with it. I've never made exceptions for anyone, except you. Being captured for a month made me wonder what I would do if I ever got out. When I was getting tortured, I thought of you to try to forget about what was going on. They tried to take everything from me, Lorelei. They did terrible things to other soldiers, most dying in the process."

Her fingers twitched at the thought. Bucky gently grabbed her hand, smiling at her, "You didn't finish describing me."

Laughing, she gently touched his hair, "You really want to know what I see. You're the first to care."

"Of course I want to know. We agreed to it."

"It's really unfair of you to ask me to describe you when I haven't seen as much as you have."

He smiled, taking her hand from his head and kissing it, "That's why I want to know. You've always been a bit poetic, so I want to know what you see."

Humming a bit, she moved closer to him, moving her fingers through his brown hair, "I spent a great deal of time traveling with Stark. All of it was on business, but he did have a taste for the lavish things, which I'm grateful for. That's probably the only accurate way to describe you."

"A lavish lifestyle is the only way to describe me?" He smirked, a prideful glint in his eye.

"Not exactly, but I'll do what I can. One of the trips I took with Stark was to some conference in Tennessee. Instead of a hotel, we stayed in a log cabin. One morning, there weren't any clouds in the sky, giving me a perfect dawn. The sun pierced through this forest in the most remarkable way. The trees were glowing, yet perfectly shadowed all the same. It was my first perfect sunrise. That burning glow in a shadowy forest...that's your hair."

Bucky blushed, his flirty smirk fading a bit, "Damn."

She gently cupped his cheek, making him stare back at her so she could look at his eyes. "Every girl that ever described your eyes lied to you. They put the sky and ocean to shame. Stark took me shopping one time. He told me I needed jewelry, so he took me to a jeweler. The jeweler tried to explain the importance of each stone and its rarity, but emphasized how precious diamonds were. He showed me a rather large one, about the size of a dime, sitting on blue velvet. To me, diamonds were just unbreakable glass prisms, nothing special. Your eyes remind me of that diamond. It captured the perfect lighting on that blue felt, magnifying its beauty in all the prisms, and glittering with no help from any light. That diamond was preparing me for your eyes."

His blush darkened, but that flirty smirk came back, "Is that so?"

She smiled slightly, "There. You've been described."

"Oh, no, you don't. I have an entire face and body left."

Sipping her whiskey, she gently ran her fingers from his temple to his jaw, "If I describe any more of you, you'll get arrogant. Besides," she looked him up and down, "I haven't seen everything else, yet."

The two laughed, both blushing at her bold flirt. Bucky put his glass down, "One more part."

"Okay," she agreed.

She regretted agreeing the moment he smirked, "Lips."

Her face burned as she let the horror and embarrassment wash over her. How was she supposed to describe his lips? Frowning slightly, her eyes moved to his lips, "Well," her confidence returned as she looked up at him. "Stark had a meeting on the coast. He told me to watch the sunset on the beach, so I did. I kept my feet in the cool waves as the sun began to lower, turning the sky purple, pink, orange, and navy." She ghosted her thumb over his lips, "For a while, the sky remained this color, this pink that seemed to take over the whole sky."

"That so?"

Her lips tingled under his touch as he brushed his thumb over her lips as she had done to him.

"Lorelei," he swallowed, his eyes moving from her lips to her eyes, "Baby, will you be my New Years kiss?"

She swallowed, nodding hesitantly. They had no idea what time it was. She had never been kissed. The intimate gesture made her heart skip a beat. Flirting with Bucky was one thing but following through was different.

Cheering brought her from her daze, Bucky's face right in front of hers as he carefully kissed her. There was something there, an odd emotion that suddenly rushed through her. Her tense body relaxed almost immediately when his arms gently wrapped around her, pulling her closer. Whatever this sensation was felt comforting and exhilarating.

Bucky slowly pulled away, blue eyes staring back as he smirked, "First kiss, huh?"

She nodded slowly, breathless as he smiled, "Want to try again?"

Could she handle another kiss? After a second of deliberating, she nodded. He slowly moved forward once more, pausing just above her lips so she could close the gap between them. The second kiss sent her body in a different direction.

Her senses were amplified, his smell wrapping around her, warming her from the inside, his lips electrifying her in the most bizarre way. Whatever loud noise in the bar had been muted, her eyes closed. She could taste the whiskey on his lips when he pulled away.

He rested his forehead against hers, "When we get home, lets pick up from here."

"What does that mean?" She asked as he took her hand, gently moving his thumb over the back of her smooth skin.

"It means...I don't want you to fall in love with me yet."

"Bucky, I fell in love with you two years ago. That's why I changed. It took all of my focus to try to ignore it."

He frowned slightly, "That's going to make things difficult."

"Make what difficult?" She questioned curiously.

"The Howling Commandos taking down HYDRA. How am I supposed to focus on the mission if you're in danger?"

"Because we're soldiers first," she answered firmly. "I'm a super soldier that's a descendant of a god. Good luck trying to kill me." Her eyes moved to the glass in front of her, "I'm getting stronger every day. Not just with this ice thing, but physically. I'm afraid of what I'm becoming. This...god part of me...every time I use my ice powers, it gets stronger. It's like theres a second me waiting to come out and take over. It understands, though. It knows it can't show itself until the time is right, so it only shows up for short moments."

"You're turning into a god?" Bucky frowned.

She shrugged, "There's a lot about Asgard I don't understand yet. I might have to meet one before I really understand what's going on. I don't want to be a god. It sounds hard." Smiling, she looked at him, "I'll always love you, Bucky, but I'm willing to wait until the war is over to act on it."

He had seen her in action, knew what she was capable of. A smirk found its way to his lips, "You're going to try to stop me from kissing you?"

"You'll have to ask me out on a date," she stated, sipping her whiskey as her smile faded. "That will make it easier. We can put our Soldier life on hold for date nights."

He nodded, agreeing to the terms of the new relationship. Confusion began to spread over his face, "Wait. I'm not a bachelor anymore."

Lorelei choked on her whiskey, the sentence slamming her like a truck, "What?"

He looked hurt for a moment then confused again, "We're dating, right? That's what it's called when you go on more than one date with the same person, right?"

"You're asking the wrong person," she smiled.

The wheels in his head were spinning as he thought over the circumstance he had just discovered. He was clearly conflicted about the thought, though it didn't seem to bother him as much as she initially believed it would.

Minutes passed, and he still hadn't spoken, though his confusion was fading away. Finally, he looked at her, "You're the only person I'm willing to give up my bachelor life for."

Her face heated up, "O-Okay."

He gently kissed her forehead, "You're the only woman I'll dance with. If anyone tries to take you from me, I'll break his arm."

She smiled a bit, "Okay."

"Cmon, lets go back. You can tell me about Asgard. I can tell you've been wanting to talk about it."

He slipped his arm around her shoulders, gently maneuvering her through the crowd until they stepped outside. The heat of the bar vanished in the Winter wind, sending shivers through the two. She clutched to his side, hoping to stay warm as they made their way back to camp.

When they stepped into her tent, Bucky was laughing while she glared at him, "It's not funny, Bucky. It's cold out there!"

"Cold is your thing. It doesn't make sense that you're cold."

"Just because it's my thing doesn't mean I like it. I'm not exactly thrilled I'm a soldier, but I didn't get a say in that matter, either."

He picked up the Tesseract orb sitting on the nightstand, "It is warm." He sat on her bed, watching as she tossed her heels to the side. "What are you doing?"

"Putting on pants," she replied, peeling her stockings off and grabbing her army pants, carefully putting them on under her dress. "I love these things."

She sat next to him, pulling her legs to her chest as she stared ahead, "There's not much to know about Asgard. There's this thing called the Bifrost that I'm not entirely sure what it does, but Heimdall can control it. After I learned about him, I've just been wanting to ask him to open the Bifrost, to let me see Asgard." Her eyes moved to him, "I've almost asked him to take me home."

Bucky sighed, "Well, it might be your home, Lovie. We don't know much about you, before Steve brought you home. Even you don't know much about your past. We have no idea who your parents are, and now it looks like your parents might not even be on Earth."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "You're just humoring me, aren't you?"

"Yes, but I'm trying to believe it. You never cared before, and we didn't either. Now, your past might be related to Norse mythology. If I wasn't here, experiencing it with you, I wouldn't believe a word of it."

She took the orb from him, "Because this isn't proof enough."

He took it back, "I would get rid of it, if I could. We were supposed to take down Hitler. Now, we know something worse has been hiding in his shadow, waiting to take over the world. What's worse is that it's possible. HYDRA has the Tesseract. They can pick up where they left off."

Her head perked up, "Yes. Yes, they can."

"What is it?" He asked curiously as she got off the bed and headed to the chest on the other side of the room.

She opened the chest, rummaging through the various bits and pieces of a sewing kit, gun parts, fabric, a large collection of bottle caps and other miscellaneous items before pulling out a map of Europe. Pushing all her tools to the side, she draped the map over her desk, grabbing the pen from the corner and dotting areas on the map.

Her thoughts were a mess as she tapped the pen on her lips, examining the map from up close before taking a few steps back and looking over it again. Sighing, she ran her fingers through her hair, "Oh boy. Colonel Phillips isn't going to like this."

Bucky moved to her side, frowning, "I don't see it."

"Prisoners," she said as she pointed out other points. "We'll either need to join the forces in these areas, or just have the Howling Commandos go to these bases. This isn't good."

"Lorelei, baby, you're not making sense," Bucky gently explained as he put his hands on her arms. "Slow down."

As he gently rubbed her arms, she slowly calmed down, smiling a bit at the familiar feeling. "That makes me tired."

"It's just calming you down," he said with a smile. "Better?"

She nodded, resting her forehead on his chest, "Whenever troops leave, HYDRA can ambush them, take them captive and force them to build the machines. With enough prisoners, it will be like picking up where they left off."

He rested his chin on top of her head as he wrapped his arms around her, gently rubbing her back, "That's not good. When are you going to tell Steve?"

"He's been eavesdropping for the past few minutes, so he already knows."

A heavy sigh came from the other side of the tent before Steve walked in with the rest of the Howling Commandos, most of them whistling at the sight of Bucky holding the tired woman. "You two forgot a tradition of ours. Since our family has expanded, I thought the guys should join us."

"Oh! I forgot all about poker!" Lorelei grinned excitedly as she cleared off her desk and moved it to the center of the tent.

The guys had brought their own chairs as Bucky, Steve, and Lorelei sat on her bed. They were all real heroes that night, each bringing at least ten beers each to share with the group. Lorelei pulled out a large collection of bottle caps she had collected since her arrival, using them as betting chips instead of real money.

"Lovie, baby, why do you have so many bottle caps?" Bucky asked when he saw more bottle caps in a different spot.

"Everyone collects something. Stark said that bottle caps were better than bullet casings. It was one of the few things we agreed on."

Dum Dum looked at her as he grabbed the cards tossed in front of him, "I thought you and Stark were close."

"We are. In fact, he said I would be the godmother of his children, if he ever has any. We got along just fine, but we didn't agree on much. Most of our fights stemmed from his playboy life, but that was because he tried to pull me in on it."

Steve chuckled, "What'd you do?"

She glanced at her cards before pushing some bottle caps forward, "One time, I burned his breakfast."

"You cooked for him?" Bucky asked as he tossed some bottle caps to the center of the table.

"It was my only piece of normalcy in my new life. He insisted I not do it, but I had to. Going to training for eight weeks broke me of the habit."

All cards were revealed, and all bottle caps pushed to Jonathan.

"Now, Ms. Winters, you knew these two before the military. Got any stories for us?" Jacques smirked when Steve and Bucky tensed.

"There are plenty. From when I first moved in until I was probably fourteen, everyone in the neighborhood was convinced Steve and Bucky were gay. If Bucky wasn't such a tease, I think all of Brooklyn would have believed it."

All of them were in tears while she noticed the two relax a bit, laughing at the story as well.

"So, Sarge has always been this way?" Sam asked.

"Worse. He was practically shameless when it came to women."

"And you're okay with that?" Jim asked, glancing at her and Bucky. "No offense, Sarge."

Bucky sighed, "It's complicated."

"We agreed to be soldiers first and have date nights. When the war is over, we'll figure out what to do. Neither of us have a clue what's going to happen or what's happening, so it's going to be exciting for everyone."

"Your first relationship is with Bucky Barnes?" Dum Dum laughed.

Steve and Lorelei looked at Bucky as he gave her a flirty smile before kissing the top of her head. The men playfully groaned at the affection while Steve continued about his counting of bottle caps.

"Cap, you don't seem too bothered by it," Gabe said suspiciously.

"He did the same thing back home. Always had, but it went from a big brother thing to something else later on. It was only a matter of time before they actually got together."

She noticed Bucky's blush out of the corner of her eye, though he tried to play it off. It placed a spark of happiness in her chest as she smiled. Even when she was blind, she meant something to him.

The night continued on with more beer, more laughs, and a lot of bottle caps switching hands. As tradition continued, the large group left the base, heading to a nearby hill to watch the sunrise. No one was happy about being in the frigid area, but tradition had to be kept. Together, they would start a new year, a new day, a new life. Standing tall, the group of twelve silently vowed themselves as the Howling Commandos.

"Alright. Let's take down HYDRA," Steve said firmly as he faced them. "Lets save the world."

The group stepped back into the camp just as a sea of women started to leave, each looking worse than the last. A few men left with them to escort the women back to the city, but collective groans from the tents hinted at the inevitable hangovers the soldiers had.

"Lovie, you need to get out of that dress," Bucky laughed as she headed to her tent.

"You going to help me?" She asked him.

"Maybe next time. I'll see you at breakfast," he kissed the top of her head.

He took two steps before turning and placing a quick kiss on her lips. Winking, he left her there. He had meant it. James Buchanan Barnes was giving up his bachelor life for her. Shellshocked and awed by the notion, Lorelei headed into her tent, smiling at the mess they had made the night before. After a quick clean up, she pulled the dress off, pulling on her long-sleeved shirt and uniform jacket.

Breakfast was not as loud as it usually was. From what Lorelei could tell, they were barely eating. How they could function on such little amount of food bothered her. She could barely function without food, which made the rescue mission much harder on her body. There had been a lot of experimentation on her part, Steve supervising how long she could go without food before her body became nearly useless, how long she could function without sleep, and her learning capabilities.

Before the army, she rarely ate and never slept, all of her energy and focus going toward learning as much as she could. Now she couldn't function without breakfast, and had to sleep at least three hours every week. She was still learning just as quickly, which was a relief.

Bucky yawned as he sat by her, looking more exhausted than he had on the rescue mission. He gave her a tired smile before eating. "Having you here makes this food taste worse," he said as he sipped his coffee.

"Bucky, my cooking wasn't that good," she argued as she took a bite of burnt toast.

Dum Dum sighed as he plopped onto the seat across from her, "You'll just have to make breakfast one day."

"No," Steve and Bucky said quickly.

"When I have to cook for more than four people, I tend to forget what I'm doing. Three hundred soldiers is out of my league," Lorelei explained with an embarrassed smile.

"You're up to four? That's impressive," Steve praised.

Jim rubbed his head, "Drinking with you isn't fair or healthy."

"Especially since you've been cheating this whole time," Sam glared.

Lorelei smiled a bit, sipping her coffee as Bucky passed her the rest of his food. He wasn't a fan of bread. While her toast had been burned beyond recognition, his was still a floppy piece of bread. She ripped it in half, handing part of it back to him.

With a quiet huff, he chomped on the bread, glaring at her from the corner of his eyes. She rolled her eyes when he gave her a hidden wink. Steve explained their plans for the day.

"Lovie, do you think you can recreate the HYDRA base?" Steve asked.

"Just the parts I visited and whatever else you tell me. If you want it to be exact, it will take me a while to dig a hole for the basement."

"No, just keep it all above ground. We don't know if every HYDRA base will be set up the same, but with Lovie's abilities, we can at least familiarize ourselves enough with their general plans to know where to look."

"You can rebuild that place with snow?" Dum Dum asked doubtfully.

"And HYDRA agents. They can shoot snowballs," she yawned, resting her head on the table.

"Lorelei, baby, you can't sleep right now," Bucky said gently.

"I'm awake," she mumbled and yawned.

"Lovie, go ahead and go to the training grounds to set up the base. We've got a meeting with Colonel Phillips then we'll be there."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Why am I not going to the meeting?" When he didn't answer, she chuckled and stood. "He doesn't think I can help. Guess those snowballs are going to need a little work, then."

Shoving her hands into her pockets, she headed toward the training ground, glaring ahead because of the cold weather. She hated everything about the cold. Since it was already cold outside, the change in temperature around her body didn't bother her nearly as bad as the general feeling of being cold. Ever since that Tesseract gun blast hit her, the icy feeling had sunk into her bones, making her perpetually cold.

The silver clouds began to drop their heavy burden, white falling heavily, quickly turning the barren, dead landscape into a white field of sparkling snow. Yawning, she stretched, smiling a bit at the near melancholic scene. She hated how lifeless winter could be. Maybe when the war was over, they could move somewhere where winter didn't exist.

"Lovie, that's enough snow," Steve told her, frowning at the near fifteen feet of snow that had covered the area.

"Tell me about the base," she said as she stepped closer to Bucky for warmth.

As Steve and Bucky described what they saw, swirling snow zoomed around, slowly recreating the base. After thirty minutes of building the base, over a hundred snow people appeared, all with guns that could shoot snowballs.

"I'll be damned," Colonel Phillips said, his boots crunching the snow as he stopped by Steve. He looked at Lorelei and groaned, "Great. I was hoping it wasn't Stark's pet."

Steve quickly placed his hand over her mouth, "You're a soldier now, Lorelei. The Colonel can send you back."

She nodded, giving the Colonel a smile when Steve moved his hand, "Just trying to help, sir."

He huffed, "Well, lets see what happens."

"Lorelei, we need weapons," Steve told her.

Snow wrapped around the soldiers, guns made of snow forming in their arms.

Colonel Phillips crossed his arms over his chest as the soldiers infiltrated the snow base. He looked down at Lorelei, "Don't people like you have to use your arms?"

"That's more for focus. I don't like doing that because it limits what I'm able to do. We don't need to worry about the battlefield if we control it.

"Maybe you should go with them'" he mumbled thoughtfully. Rogers told me what you thought of the HYDRA bases, what they're doing to our soldiers. If you think you can take it down without messing up, I'll let you go."

"Yes, sir," she agreed with a satisfied smile.

He huffed, "If you and Sergeant Barnes mess this up, you're getting sent back to Stark, and I dare someone to try and stop me."

"Yes, sir," she nodded, the smile not faltering.

Orders and yells could be heard as well as laughter and scolding. Finally the team ran out, shooting each other with the snow guns. The Colonel sighed, grumbling under his breath while Lorelei smiled.

"Gentlemen," Agent Carter greeted with a smile as they sheepishly hid their snow guns behind their backs. Her brown eyes met Lorelei's gaze, "Ms. Winters, I see your abilities are starting to have some use. Though, it's hardly fair Captain America and his team get to goof off while the others are preparing to move to the next HYDRA base."

"Just a standard run through of a HYDRA base so the men will know what to look for during our next infiltration. The more we invade, the better prepared we'll be when we finally catch Schmidt. Lorelei can recreate the HYDRA base, give us an advantage," Steve said as he dropped the snow gun, the weapon turning to a pile of snow upon impact.

"Winters, destroy the base," Bucky ordered.

"Wait, I want to see what it looks like," Peggy said as she stepped toward the fort.

"Keep it up until she leaves. We need to head back to help pack up," Steve said.

Bucky gave Lorelei a smile as he placed his hand on her shoulder before leaving with the others. She just didn't get along with Peggy. Why the woman insisted on rubbing her the wrong way was a mystery. Maybe Peggy was jealous of her relationship with Steve or the fact she wasn't the only woman around?

She waited for Peggy for what felt like hours. Had Steve not asked her, she would have left long ago, but she waited. She waited in the hellish cold as Peggy took her time roaming the HYDRA snow fort.

Finally Peggy walked out, covered in snow from falling at some point. Lorelei would have laughed if she wasn't so cold and annoyed. When the British agent got to her side, the fort collapsed into a powder that blanketed them.

Both were miserable by the time they returned to camp. Tents were being taken down and packed into trucks. They parted ways, Lorelei heading to her tent to start packing her things and take down her tent.

The tent was easy enough to take down, but packing and organizing all of her things had been proven to be quite a hassle. After emptying the chest, she put everything back inside, adjusting and placing things as needed until the chest easily closed.

"Lovie! Need your help!"

She placed her chest with the others before heading to Steve, frowning at the massive tent they had been assigned to take down. "Alright, let's get to it, then."

Between the two super soldiers, taking down the tent was much quicker than anyone had thought. The two were able to easily pack up the trucks, carrying multiple chests and tents at a time, though they had to be led when the chests were stacked too high.

"It doesn't bother you? There's no way I would date a woman stronger than me," Lopez told Bucky.

Despite the distance, Lorelei could hear the conversation clearly. She hadn't thought of her strength damaging Bucky's pride. Would it scare him away? She remembered the girls Bucky had dated, how they reacted when he ignored them in public when he was with another girl. Sometimes, Bucky lost friends with the girls, which started a new pain in her chest. Bucky was going to leave her, and Steve would go with him. She was going to be alone.

Darkness had consumed her. She stood frigid, alone, lost and scared. Had she lost her sight? Her chest tightened, when she realized she couldn't hear the busy soldiers that had been around her. What had happened?

A muffled, distant voice called her name. She followed the sound, listening as the voice grew nearer, clearer, panicked.

"Baby, I need you to breathe," the voice she recognized to be Bucky's ordered desperately.

She took a shaky breath, "I...I can't see."

"That's okay. Just keep breathing," he said gently.

Her body suddenly felt very cold, though her arms were being heated by something else rubbing her. A warm musky scent filled her senses, warming her from the inside and helping her breathe a little easier. Slowly, the black began to spot away, Bucky's face becoming clearer every few seconds.

"There you are," he smiled as he watched hr eyes focus on him. "Lorelei, what happened?"

"I don't know. I just panicked."

He nodded, gently kissing her forehead. "No more panicking. You'll put me in an early grave."

She smiled, "Yes, sir."

He gave her a thoughtful look, "It was always cute when women called me sir, but I don't like when you do it."

"You're my superior. I have to."

"Then leave it at Sergeant or something. Hearing you call me sir is...degrading to you." He smiled down at her, "Ready to go, Winters?"

"Always, Sergeant Barnes," she replied as he put a gun in her arms.

"Good. You've been stationed with Rogers in the front truck. Stay alert."

"Wait, Sergeant," she said as she grabbed his arm before he could order around more soldiers. "Where are we going?"

He winked, "The country of Love, sweetheart."

Her nose scrunched, "I don't think I'm going to like France."

"Catch up with Steve and I'll see you tonight," he said gently. He hesitated a moment before his Sergeant face returned and he walked away, giving orders to another soldier.

The familiar energy radiating from the gun told her it was a Tesseract gun. She hated feeling that thing, though she had an orb in her pocket. It kept the bone seeping cold out, helping her feel a bit more human.

"Looks like we're working together again," Steve said as he smiled at her.

"They're planning something," she told him when she noticed the Tesseract gun in his hands. Two super soldiers leading an army to France.

"Yeah, they want to know how strong super soldiers are. Not all of them know what we're capable of doing."

"Whatever you say, Captain. Your loyal soldiers will follow you to death," she replied dryly as the company began to move.


	3. Chapter 3

On their way to France, Colonel Phillips directed Steve to branch off, take his own way to HYDRA's France weapons base. After a tense goodbye between Peggy and Steve as well as a written letter to Howard Stark from Lorelei, the Howling Commandos left the 107th.

Not being on open road barely eased Lorelei's paranoia. They didn't have much, mostly weapons and dried or canned food, but the winter was not kind and they couldn't risk fires. Everyone had their own Tesseract orb in their pockets to help keep them warm, but that didn't dry off the ground at night.

During the day, they miserably hiked through the thick snow or slushy marsh of area, while at night they huddled together on any relatively dry place they could find, two on look out. Now that she had experienced the worst of winter, Lorelei spent her watch trying to create the perfect boots that were impenetrable by water and quick to dry during their walks or over night.

"You could make the uniform warmer," Dum Dum grumbled as the snow began to fall.

She hadn't counted the days since they parted the 107th, but according to Steve, they were probably five miles from their destination. They had practically stopped talking the night before, wary of giving away their location. They would be doing another night infiltration, Steve sending Lorelei in first.

With the technology the enemy possessed, it was best to send her in first. Everyone except Bucky and Lorelei had been skeptical of Steve's plan, but they were also skeptical about having a woman on the team. It also made the most sense because she could create a blinding blizzard that could mask their entrance.

Steve stopped, everyone immediately halting as well as they stared at the fog covered lights of the HYDRA base almost a mile away. He turned to them, "Alright, we'll go in at midnight. Lovie, you go ahead, keep your distance and monitor the area. Find our entrances and exits. Get ready to blow them."

Jumping to the nearest tree, she began her quiet leaps through the forest, watching for any sign of surveillance. When she got to the border, she stayed against the trunk, watching and listening in on the conversations in the distance. Jaques had taught her French over their time traveling, making the conversations easier to understand.

As the nearby soldiers discussed their lunch plans, Lorelei stuck to the shadows, jumping quietly between the trees as she examined the building. After fully circling the large base, she went to one of the storage areas, jumping from the tree, over the barbed gate, landing quietly on a fresh pile of snow.

The process was slow, taking out soldiers that weren't in view of the cameras. Once she found her way to the power generator, she looked over all the wires and fail safes, trying to figure out which wires were directly connected to the power within the building. She needed to blow out the fuse, but in a less obvious way. Tapping various wires and switches, she began shutting down the building, knowing it would give the guys enough time to infiltrate and rescue.

Men swarmed from inside the building like ants from a damaged ant hill, trying to find where the power had been damaged. Using the diversion, she snuck inside, walking silently against the walls as the men slowly managed to turn the lights on and off.

This place did not have a Tesseract powered room, but there was a room full of Tesseract energy storage casings. Moving through, she carefully planted the small C-4 bombs in her pockets at different entrances and exits that would best destroy the building.

Making her way down a level, she found herself in another research room. Books on the Tesseract lay out, translated into French and German, multiple copies of books she already had lined the room. Finding some notebooks and a duffle bag, she swiped all the notebooks and left to find more information.

Her pulse quickened when she heard screams. Abandoning her bag, she ran down the hall, kicking the metal door down just as a head fell to the floor. Laying at the base of the table was an arm and leg as well as multiple fingers. She watched in horror as the head stopped rolling, dead eyes staring up at her. She knew that face. He had been part of their rescue mission, sent back to his regime. The three doctors watching were shot immediately. The last doctor who had been the one to kill the man was pinned to the wall, frozen over so he couldn't move. There were multiple bodies, all butchered like the one on the table, piled in the corner of the room, while five other soldiers remained locked in a tiny cage, calling to her for help.

Walking to the cage, she grabbed the door, and with a quick pull, ripped from the hinges, freeing the soldiers from their cell. Her attention moved to the man frozen to the wall. She could barely focus in him, her mind trying to keep her from passing out on the spot at the gore in the room. Walking to the table where all the torture tools had been placed, she picked up one that she figured could pull teeth.

"Now, I've never done this before, so it might hurt. Gotta find that cyanide pill before you break it, right?" She walked up to him, forcing his mouth open and looking in. "Oh, there it is."

Chilling the clamp to a low temperature, she stuck it inside his mouth, making sure it touched every nerve in the crevice where the artificial tooth had been placed. He screamed as she let the pain seep into his body, waiting to pull the capsule. Once his voice had gone hoarse, she removed the capsule, throwing the man to the ground where she heard a few bones break on contact.

"What the hell is this place?" Jim asked as he stepped into the room, her bag on his shoulder. "Lorelei? What the hell happened to you?"

"Take him and get out of here. I'll meet you in a few minutes," she replied, eerily calm as her hazel eyes burned into the man on the ground.

Despite how sick she felt, she searched the room for the dog tags of the other soldiers and notes of the doctors. She counted thirty dog tags before she decided to leave the room. The notebooks were written in German and French, but hard to read due to the blood on the pages.

When she stepped outside, she shivered in the cold night air, looking at the others that waited for her. "Blow it to hell," Steve ordered.

Lorelei pulled the button from her pocket, pushing it and walking away from the grumbling inferno that erupted behind her. Bucky put his arm around her shoulders, "Lovie, why are you covered in blood again?"

She whimpered, tears flowing freely from her eyes as she stared at the ground, "They killed them, Sergeant Barnes. Tortured them...they...they butchered them. I...I can't unsee it."

He rested his chin on her head, "I know, doll. I don't think it's going to get better any time soon."

"Let's catch up with the others, get these men where they belong," Steve said, sending a sympathetic look to his friend.

She sniffled, staying close to Bucky as they walked to a truck one of them had commandeered. When they got back to the truck, flash lights were passed around so Lorelei could tend to the wounds, stitching the men back together.

"So, when we catch up with the others, how about me and you go for a drink? Maybe a dance?" A dark haired man with a thick beard winked as she shoved the needle into his arm.

"No, but thank you," she replied with a kind smile as she placed a bandage over the wound.

"Will Captain America not let his golden girl go out without his permission?" He teased.

"No, I just don't want a drink or dance with you," she replied evenly, earning some chuckles from the men around him.

"You can't tell me adding one more man to the team would be an issue," he said with a smirk.

She bristled, "I don't like what you're implying."

"Wait, that's not the case?" A bald man asked as he rubbed his bandaged shoulder. "Why are you on the battlefield?"

Rather than explain herself, she finished tending the wounds and left to sit on top of the truck.

"Lorelei," Steve called, pulling her from her train of thought. She leaned over, peeking down at the smirking captain. "Ready to learn how to drive?"

Sighing, she dropped from the top of the truck, putting her notebooks in his hands and climbing into the driver's side of the truck.

"You seem confident," Bucky smirked.

"Howard taught me how to turn the car on, but not drive it. I really don't think I need this information."

"It'll be fun," he smiled.

She was starting to hate that smile. He could convince her to do anything with that smile. She was convinced he knew because he smiled more when she was around. It was genuine, though. She was making him a better man, a happier man. That made her smile a bit as she followed his instructions.

His enthusiasm was as contagious as his smile. Beneath those blue eyes were dark circles from what little sleep they had been getting, but they were glowing with exceptional brightness and excitement as he told her exactly what everything did and why it worked that way.

When the truck started moving, he moved closer to her, explaining everything on the dashboard and how to work the windshield wipers incase it snowed or rained. She didn't want to drive, but she was thankful for the heater. Everyone was switching out every mile or so, but Bucky stayed by her side to be a constant factor he knew she would need.

They drove for hours, Bucky staying awake the whole time, helping Lorelei stay awake as they traveled to the American base in France. When they arrived, three days had passed, and they never stopped. Lorelei was exhausted, following Bucky's directions on how to park the large vehicle before turning the engine off and sliding out of the truck.

She gave a tired, but attentive, salute when Colonel Phillips approached them. He sighed, "Winters, why the hell were you driving?"

"Captain Rogers' orders, sir," she replied.

"Well, you made it back in one piece. That's what matters, I suppose," he replied as he looked over the large group. "How many, Barnes?"

"Just under a hundred, sir," Bucky replied, his exhaustion starting to show as well.

"Get some rest. You can give me a full report tomorrow."

"Thank you, sir," the two replied.

"Winters, you'll be sharing a tent with the rest of the Howling Commandos. A place has been curtained off for you," he said before walking away.

His words hardly mattered as she followed Bucky to the tent and grabbed clothing before following him to the showers. All of her self-respect was shot as she took a shower with the other Howling Commandos, though she kept to the end, next to Bucky.

She couldn't remember the last time a bed had felt so wonderful. Her Tesseract orb was under the sheets, warming the bed, sending a sigh of relief through her. Sweet, wonderful sleep welcomed her, and who was she to say no?

Someone called her name, but she ignored it, cuddling into her pillow.

"Lorelei, baby, you need to get up."

She opened one eye, glaring at Bucky who was squatting by her bed, his face right by hers, eyes glittering in happiness. "Hey, there."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Only thirty minutes," he replied with a frown as he stood. She watched as he pushed a bed next to her and got in, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to his chest, "You were having a nightmare. I couldn't watch you suffer like that."

She gave a tired nod, turning so her face was against his chest, "Thanks, Bucky."

"Anything for you, doll," he murmured into her hair, placing a kiss on her head.

A freezing breeze made Lorelei shiver and curl into a ball. Reality slowly began to sink in as she took in the familiar scent of Bucky Barnes. He wasn't by her anymore, probably the reason behind her waking up cold.

Yawning, she woke up and pushed her hair from her face only for it to fall back. She tried again, and again, and again. Her hair wasn't supposed to be in her face. It was too long. She looked behind her, her blood flooding from her face at the hair that rested on her pillow. Getting to her feet, she walked out of the tent, heading to the bathroom where she stared at the monstrosity that had befallen her ashen hair.

It had reached just past her shoulders, but the choppy pieces were to her chin and shorter. She swallowed at the sight, running her fingers through the mess. It hadn't been this length since the soup kitchen fire. There was no fixing it, at least not any time soon.

"Lorelei, what happened to your hair?" Steve asked as he adjusted the towel on his waist.

"I don't know, but it's gone," she said as pulled at it again. "Can you fix it?"

"Bucky was the barber in the family. I don't know if he can fix that, Lovie," Steve said sympathetically.

"I know. Think he can even it out?" She questioned as she pushed her bangs from her eyes.

"Let me get dressed, and we'll see if they have an official barber or something."

She walked out of the bathroom, ruffling her obnoxiously short hair. It made her neck cold, a feeling she had never liked and her ears were starting to get numb and ache. The annoying strands fell in her face, blowing in the wind as she stood still, just watching the strands move. At least it was just her hair. Her chest ached with sudden anxiety. Hopefully, it was just her hair.

When Steve finally stepped out, he frowned, running his fingers through her hair, "Bucky won't be happy. He loved your hair."

"Where is he? He wasn't there when I woke up."

"He said he needed to talk to Colonel Kennedy, but he didn't say why. Maybe he was trying to see if any of the men wanted to join the Howling Commandos."

"No, I think he got in trouble," Lorelei said when she heard the loud yelling coming from Colonel Phillips' tent.

The two walked into the open tent, watching as Colonel Phillips really laid it onto the five men in front of him. A middle aged man with grey eyes stood behind Phillips, waiting his turn to give his own scolding to the men. Lorelei assumed that man was Colonel Kennedy.

"Well, if it's not the source of our problems," Colonel Kennedy said when his eyes met hers. He stepped around the men, walking to Lorelei, his stride determined and intimidating. He stopped barely a foot away from her as he looked down. His bronze hair was slicked back with an abnormal amount of hair gel making him look like his hair was soaked and frozen in place. "Lorelei Winters, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir," she replied, unintimidated by the man.

"And you're a soldier," he began slowly pacing in front of her, analyzing her.

"Yes, sir."

"Prove it."

Bewildered by the order, she could only question him, "How?"

"Go back to America, where you belong," he ordered.

"With all due respect, sir, that isn't your call to make," she replied seriously.

"Winters, you were caught sleeping with Sergeant Barnes. We can't allow that," Phillips said.

"Colonel, you can't be serious. Winters will help turn this war around. We need her," Steve argued.

"I know, but it can't be helped, son. She isn't being sent to America, but she is getting put on a special ops team to take down Hitler." He looked at Lorelei, "You've also been promoted to sergeant, congratulations. Pack up and get ready to leave in two hours. A helicopter will be picking you up to take you to the front lines in Germany."

"Sir, once Hitler is taken down, will I be allowed to return?" She asked coldly.

"Winters, if you take down Hitler, you better get your ass back here before it reaches the news because we'll need you," Steve said seriously. "Fix your hair and start packing, that's an order."

She left the tent, ignoring prying, curious eyes as she held her head high. When she stepped into the tent, she found the Howling Commandos giving her sympathetic looks.

"Hey, why the long faces? I'll only be gone a few weeks."

"Sergeant Winters, it's not that simple. No one knows about HYDRA or the Tesseract. There aren't any officers as daring and confident as Captain Rogers. You're not a super soldier anymore. No one can know," Jonathan said sadly.

She knew that. Her rank was just sergeant, and that was probably Steve's doing. He was right about the other regimes not being bold enough to go head first into this mess. The war could last another five years, if not longer. There would be no moving ranks anymore. Her authority would be over looked simply because she was a woman anyway.

"Ma'am, can I ask you a question?" Dum Dum asked.

"Yeah," she replied as she continued to pack up her clothing.

"Why were you and Sarge sleeping together?"

"He always slept with me when I had nightmares. Cap too, actually. Even though I was blind, I still had this fear that would shoot through me while I was asleep. Sarge could only describe it as a nightmare."

"What happened to your hair?" Jim asked.

"Someone cut it while I was asleep." The men grimaced when she slammed her chest shut, the air turning frigid with her anger. With a deep breath, she turned to the present Howling Commandos, "I apologize for my behavior. I hope we meet again."

"How about England? January 7, 1946," Jonathan suggested.

"I'll be there," she replied, smiling at the group. "Follow Captain America to the end. He may lose hope along the way. Sergeant Barnes will need you as well. The world is depending on us. We are the ones that end this war. We may not be be fighting side by side, but we will be fighting together. I'll keep you updated on my country, and if you find yourselves there, ready to attack a HYDRA base, let me know. I'm sure I can sneak off to help."

All of the men hugged and kissed her goodbye as she picked up her chest and walked out of the tent. When she got to the pick up point, Steve and Bucky were standing there.

There were no smiles as the three looked at each other. Steve was the first to step forward, hugging her tight as he started to silently cry. Her sobs were not so silent as she held onto the tall man as tight as she willed. Gently rubbing her back usually calmed her down, but it made the pang in her chest repeat until he let her go.

"Sergeant Winters, you come back alive. That's an order."

She sniffled as she whimpered, "Yes, sir."

Kissing the top of her head, he took a step back to look at her again. Behind those confident blue eyes of his was worry that she wouldn't make it back, that he would never see her again. He hugged her again, "I love you, Lorelei."

"I love you, Steve," she replied quietly, tightening her embrace a bit. "We'll win this. We'll go home."

"See you soon," he whispered, kissing the top of her head and walking away.

Her eyes left the leaving captain, moving to her beloved Bucky as he approached her with his usual charming smile, "What's that face for, doll? You'll see me again."

"I don't want to leave you and Steve. Bucky, I can't be a super soldier anymore. I can't help."

He smiled as he ran his fingers through her choppy hair, "Lorelei, you'll be what ends this war. Get rid of Hitler and you can come back for HYDRA. Steve and I will be waiting for you, either here somewhere or back in America." He gently took her hand, intertwining their fingers, "We won't be able to write, but they may allow telegrams." He swallowed hard, taking her chin to make her look at him, "Lorelei, if I don't come home, promise you'll move on."

"Can you make that promise?" She asked.

He chuckled, "Can you promise to live on without me?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I can do that."

His eyes began to water as he hugged her, "I love you, Lorelei."

She gripped the back of his shirt as tears began to fall, "I love you, Bucky. Always."

When he kissed her, Lorelei was unsure how she felt about what she was feeling. Her body felt so light and weak while her mind reeled. She hadn't realized how alone she felt until he suddenly filled every void in her crashing soul. The sad tears that mixed between their lips made her heart ache, but she felt happy. It was like he was giving her every ounce of his love and support, revitalizing and warming her. She felt a new wave of confidence and surety about herself and the war. Everything would be fine.

"If I had known your kisses were going to be that incredible, I would have started a long time ago," Bucky said against her lips.

"It was illegal a long time ago," she replied with a smirk.

"That hardly stops anyone when war comes. Most of the boys got married before they left. I will when I get back."

Her eyes widened as she focused on the glittering blue gazing softly and lovingly back. Words escaped her as she stared up at him, both pale and blushing. She had noticed when his opinion on their relationship changed. The pet name "doll" was important to him. It was what his father always called his mother. He said he would only call the woman he planned to marry "doll".

He smiled as he kissed her forehead, "I'll let you think about it."

She poked him in the chest, "You know damn well I'll marry you. There's a lot I need to figure out, though. I hope you understand."

"Of course, doll. I'll see you soon."

He kissed her again, comforting her and easing the tension that the arriving helicopter had caused. God, she loved that man. He pulled away, kissing her forehead before tears began to fall from his eyes, "I love you, Lorelei."

"I love you, James."

A smile found its way to her lips when he blushed. He remained with her as they watched three soldiers struggle to put her chest into the helicopter. The two shared a sad look. It was going to be a very long war if soldiers like that were stationed to take down Hitler.

They helped her onto the helicopter where she stood as it began to rise. She saluted the Howling Commandos until she could no longer see them. Finally taking a seat, she sighed as she looked at the man sitting across from her.

"I'm Colonel Sampson Perez. Try to not sleep with my soldiers," he said, his voice rough as he pulled out a cigarette.

The older man had thick salt and pepper hair, dark eyes and thick wrinkles around his eyes. For the most part, he looked like he was being inconvenienced by her presence more than anything. The other soldiers were giving her questionable looks. She knew she looked like a mess, but she hadn't had time to fix the mess on her head. The thought of just shaving it off had become her final solution rather than worry about styling it.

Though the dresses had come with her, she planned to ship them to Howard Stark for safe keeping. He was going to be thrilled when he heard about her and Bucky. Knowing him, he'd have the wedding planned and all of the country would be invited. She laughed at the thought, her eyes going to the ceiling. Not even the war could bring her off her Cloud Nine. Had she known loving Bucky would be so fantastic, she would have acted on it when it first started.

They practically dropped her in the front line trenches making her wonder why they even bothered taking her things. A sniper rifle was put in her hands and orders were given to shoot on sight. She followed those orders, shooting any advancing soldier that managed to get too far in and taking down some of the tanks.

They were going to survive this battle, and they were going to do it without a super soldier. She had a goal, reunite with Bucky and Steve to take down HYDRA. Nothing was going to prevent that from happening.

The large army of German militia was dwindling as the days passed. Her accuracy had taken down planes and tanks, both exploding on the enemy side, taking out hundreds on impact. The American lines were lowering as well, but not as quickly.

Two weeks passed before the German forces began their retreat. Lorelei had taken down a cargo plane filled with ammunition that violently exploded when it hit the ground.

Their return to base was celebrated, a lot of men cheering for the female sergeant in their midst. She fought her exhaustion as she listened to Colonel Perez talk about their next move. They would be moving soon, joining with another army that was struggling.

"Sergeant Winters, it seems your time with Captain America did some good after all. Any other officers you want to sleep with so you can gain more experience?" Colonel Perez asked with a straight face.

Rather than answer, she stepped around him, heading to her assigned tent that was much smaller than the last. It would take time, but they could do it. She just hoped Steve and Bucky were doing better than she was.

As the group moved, she became the official sniper, even rising a rank to Staff Sergeant. She couldn't write or telegram the 107th, though she doubted the Howling Commandos were anywhere near them. As she looked at the pictures in her locket, she couldn't help but wonder how proud they would be. Would Steve let her drink as much as she wanted? Would Bucky dance with her until they were too tired? Any intimate action with Bucky still made her blush as she remembered the feeling behind their kisses.

Absentmindedly touching her lips, she moved her thumb over his picture in the locket. She regretted not staring at him longer, not staying in his arms more, not loving him. It made her feel lonely and lost. They needed to end the war, end HYDRA, and go home.

Fear sank into her skin at the thought of marriage. She knew she would be the happiest woman in the world when she married Bucky Barnes, but the drastic change it would create made her worry. What would happen to Steve? Would they leave Brooklyn? Would he pick up boxing again? She had grown tired of the city, something both men knew, and wanted to one day move to the country side if she could. Would Bucky want to do that?

That lifestyle became routine. She moved from battlefield to battlefield, taking out soldiers, civilians, children, tanks, and planes. After the first child she killed, she had practically stopped sleeping again, only able to see the child die. The little girl was probably ten, but she had to kill younger, as well. If it walked, it had to go.

"Master Sergeant Winters, you may want to take a look at this," one of the soldiers said fearfully as he pushed a newspaper into her hands.

At the moment, they were barricading Berlin, waiting for an official call from the President to attack. It was the first time in two or three years she had been given a break. It was the closest they had ever been to killing Hitler and ending the war. She would be returning to Bucky and Steve soon.

Closing the locket, she opened the crumpled newspaper and felt her heart stop.

ROGERS DISAPPEARED

She fell to the ground, tears rolling down her cheeks as she clutched the newspaper. She sniffles as she stared at the picture of Steve Rogers staring back at her. "Dammit, Steve. You weren't supposed to leave me again."

"Ma'am, do we still have a chance?" He asked.

"Yeah, we have a chance," she sniffles as she ran her fingers through her hair.

She ripped the page, folding Steve's face up and sticking it in her pocket. Once this Hitler assignment was finished, she would find the 107th, get Bucky, and find Steve. She prayed Bucky was still alive. If he wasn't, she was going to keep to her word and continue living. HYDRA and everything related to it would pay in blood.

Hours before they received the order to attack, word reached that Hitler had committed suicide. Just like that, the war was over. Rather than celebrate, Lorelei tried to find a way to get in contact with the 107th. There was no 107th to contact anymore.

Lorelei went home, leaving everything behind. Steve was gone, Bucky was missing, HYDRA was MIA, but probably active. When she returned to her Brooklyn apartment, she found it empty.

"You were gone. I, uh, bought the building, if you ever wanted to move back in," Howard said as he stepped in behind her. He sighed, "I'm sorry about Bucky and Steve-"

"What happened to Bucky?" She asked quickly as she turned to face him. His stunned, melocholy face told her everything. "What happened?"

"He fell off a train while they were capturing the scientist behind it all. The Tesseract is gone, also. It went down with Captain Rogers. I'm working on tracking the plane, so maybe we can find it."

"Since HYDRA probably has plenty of Tesseract weapons, you want to create more?" She asked.

"I have to, sweetheart. That's just how business works."

"Can I live with you again? I don't want to miss the chance to destroy HYDRA."

Stark smiled, "A brilliant mind like yours? I could never turn you down."

She smiled as well, leaving the empty apartment without a second glance. Climbing into Stark's car, she sighed and stretched. "I can't believe we went through all of that just for Hitler to kill himself."

"Lore, you can't bottle up how you feel about Steve and Sergeant Barnes. It isn't healthy."

She sighed, "There's not much to say. Last time I spoke to Bucky, we were going to get married. Last time I spoke to Steve, he ordered me to not die. That was two or three years ago. As soon as I find out where HYDRA is, I'm going to kill them all. She looked at the tense man next to her, "They've taken everything from me, Howie. They need to be destroyed before they take everything you have."

He chuckled, "I don't have much, sweetheart. Just a multi-million dollar enterprise."

"You manufacture weapons. Can you imagine what would happen if HYDRA got a hold of your weapons and mixed them with Tesseract energy?"

His amusement faded, "When we get home, I want you to figure out a way to trace the Tesseract energy. We need to find it first."

When the car came to a stop, she climbed out, looking at the familiar mansion. The white building was glowing pink in the setting sun, a painful color that reminded her of Bucky's lips. She felt like the rest of her life would be cursed with that. Everything was going to remind her of Bucky Barnes.

Returning to the wing of the mansion Howard had designated as hers was tiring. Being back in America, living with Howard Stark, it all made her feel like she failed. How could she be happy when all of that evil had happened? Steve and Bucky were gone. In her book, HYDRA won. They had taken America's hero, and they had taken her love.

She had heard the saying "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned", and from the rage she could feel within, she knew the saying to be valid. There would be a special hell to pay for taking them. Not only would HYDRA know, but anyone watching would know there was someone more powerful than Steve Rogers in the world, and she did not know fear.

When she opened the door to her room, she expected it to be just as blank and dull as it had been when she left. Howard had taken some time to make the room feel a little more at home, though she wasn't sure how she felt about that. She could smell Bucky and Steve. As she walked to her crowded bookshelf, she recognized book titles and knew which ones belonged to Steve and which ones belonged to Bucky. Their radio was in the corner of the room. Pictures taken from the apartment hung on the walls while pictures taken while they were over seas were in smaller frames on shelves and nightstands.

Everything in the room caused her emotional pain, but also made her smile. She knew that with time, she would be able to genuinely smile again, maybe even decorate her wing in Captain America memorabilia, but for the time being, the room was enough.

Sighing, she headed to the bathroom, which was the same bland white color and took a shower. Her life as a super soldier was done, her life as a weapons specialist beginning once more. The thought of leaving the super soldier life behind bothered her. She would always be ready to pick up where she left off, but her ice abilities needed to be watched after as well.

After a hot shower, she got dressed in what had become her regular outfit, cargo pants and a long sleeved shirt. Heading to the lab, she found Stark already working on something that resembled an engine.

"What's that?" Lorelei asked as she picked up a familiar Tesseract gun.

"I'm trying to make a high pressure submarine that can hold one or two men," he said as he began tampering with a piece. "We lost Steve over the ocean, so maybe it fell out there. A high pressure sub will be able to get the Tesseract from the ocean floor."

She returned to dismantling the Tesseract gun, "I'm surprised you haven't created a tracker for this already. What happened?"

"Captain America died. Which reminds me, I'm hosting a memorial service. Can you get in contact with some local caterers and tell them what his favorite foods were so we can celebrate?"

She sighed, "Steve wasn't picky. Though, he really liked breakfast. He always got up extra early on Sundays because I would cook a big breakfast."

"Breakfast? That's weird. How could you afford that?"

"I had an average of twenty soldiers coming in each week to get their uniforms altered at two-fifty a piece. Bucky was paid five dollars a week, Steve brought home about fifty cents a day with his volunteer work. We were fine."

"I guess so," he concluded with a suspicious look. Turning back to the engine, he continued, "So, breakfast, huh?"

She nodded, "That would be your best bet."

They fell silent as Lorelei began to test and scan the Tesseract energy. The radiation waves weren't anything like she had seen, making the tracker much easier to make than she initially believed. She had to overcome the power of the tracker in case the Tesseract had been lost in heavy forest or in a mountain.

"Hey, I'm sorry about Bucky," Stark said sympathetically. "I don't know what it's like to lose someone that close to you. Hell, I don't even know what it's like to love someone. You lost your best friend and the man you were going to spend the rest of your life with at the same time. Don't push yourself back into this. Take your time."

"War changes people, Howie. A lot happened to me, a lot of stuff I don't understand. HYDRA took Bucky and Steve from me." She laughed a bit, "I thought I was a good person. I'm not, though. They have to pay for what they've done. The world will be painted red with their blood, and no one will be able to stand in my way."

"And, I agree with you," Howard said with a smile. "Before you start killing everyone, let me help you."

"No one can know."

He smirked, "That's the only fun way to do things."

She smiled at his support. This wouldn't bring Steve or Bucky back. She knew there was a chance she still wouldn't be happy afterward, but there would be one less evil in the world. Only then would she be able to die in peace or maybe see Asgard.

The thought of Asgard brought the familiar annoyance of ice cold rushing through her veins. Things with the war had pushed all of that from her mind, but as she thought about it, the cold wasn't there.

Opening her palm, she focused on pulling the cold energy, only to watch as a spark began to crackle until there was a flame in the palm of her hand.

"Lore, what's that?" Howard asked.

"Fire, I think." She looked at him as the fire disappeared, "Something happened a few years ago, when we first got to Italy. When you sent me with Steve to that base, I was shot by one of these things," she gestured to the disassembled Tesseract gun, "and this ice power was activated. I found out the Tesseract is from some alien world called Asgard where the mythological Norse gods are from. There is a small chance I'm not entirely human."

"You said ice. Why was that fire?"

"I don't know. I was told to leave the super soldier behind, so I stopped using the ice powers."

"If you're going to take down HYDRA, you might want to learn more about those abilities of yours. That sounds like power you'll need to take them down."

"I'm not going to use my fire power inside," she said blankly as she went back to the tracker. "Let's find the Tesseract."

As she worked on creating the tracker for the Tesseract, her mind continued to move back to the odd fire ability she possessed. Could it be controlled like the ice power? What happened to the ice power?

Her old habits returned. Without the constant use of her super soldier abilities, she lost any appetite, rarely eating and never sleeping. After three weeks, she had the technology of the tracker created, but no outer shell that would sync with the sub Howard was creating.

Their invention was put on hold for the memorial service. Howard had managed to gather all of the remaining Howling Commandos, celebrating their victories and mourning their losses.

Lorelei dressed as she had her first and last date with Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, her blonde hair down, and perfect makeup. Her dress was black and billowy, something Bucky would have loved.

"Master Sergeant Winters," Jim greeted as he shook her hand, a watery, sympathetic smile on his face. "I'm so sorry."

"Thank you for coming," she answered with a sad smile. "Thank you for following them until the end."

"Sarge said you could have his mother's ring. Just in case you thought he was joking," Dum Dum said.

Lorelei smiled, "I figured as much. Right now, it's better off where it is."

"You look nice," Gabe said as he shook her hand. "Back with Mister Stark, huh?"

"I have nowhere else to go. Before the war, I was a blind tailor sizing soldiers. No war, no soldiers. I'm fortunate for him to take me in again. He had a high respect for Steve."

"We all did," a familiar British voice chimed in.

Turning to Peggy, Lorelei gave a small sympathetic smile, "It's good to see you again, Agent Carter."

"Peggy," she corrected with a smile. "It's nice to see you as well, Lorelei. I'm sorry for your loss."

A slight frown made it to Lorelei's lips, "And, I'm sorry for yours. I don't know if you knew, but he had this pocket watch that had your picture in it. Bucky and I teased him about how often he would check the time. Sometimes he checked it multiple times before he actually looked at the time. Seeing your picture just made him forget."

The British agent blushed, "Sergeant Barnes had a picture of you in his jacket at all times. I managed to get a copy for you."

She searched through her small red clutch, pulling a folded photo. Lorelei took the picture, smiling when she opened it. New Years, her first kiss had been captured, frozen in time. It was amusing how startled and confused she looked while Bucky confidently held her. She had never realized how obviously in love the two were. That was a type of love she would never feel again.

"Lorelei, something has changed with you, hasn't it?" Peggy asked.

"Yeah, I was put in the trenches. Being on the front lines was what Steve wanted. I was hoping to tell him all about it, but maybe another time." She looked at the large photo of Captain America above the stage that she would do her speech. "The war is over with Germany, but it's just beginning with HYDRA. As long as the Tesseract exists, HYDRA will exist. They're probably searching for the Tesseract now."

The lights started to dim down signaling for Lorelei to dismiss herself and make it to the stage. Howard handed her a glass of champagne as she walked up the stairs to the stage. She stood awkwardly at the podium, pretending to look over the audience that had been washed out by the overhead lights. She hadn't realized her speech would be on the radio until she noticed all the microphones attached to the podium.

"Good evening," she greeted awkwardly before laughing a bit. "Howie, will you get me a beer?" An awkward silence took over the room as she waited to switch her champagne with a beer.

"Good evening," she greeted more confidently as she opened the beer Howard gave her. "My name is Lorelei Winters, and I was a close friend of Steve Rogers. He was many things but never a coward. He never stepped down from a fight, no matter the odds. His determination flowed into his life as a soldier as well. I got to see him in action, watching as he directed and guided men to victory after victory. He was not some actor that traveled the country for fun. He was a hero, a real hero. I know he would be uncomfortable knowing we did this for him. That was just how Steve was. He was humble. At the same time, he would be proud. Being here, having this memorial, that means he did not die in vain. It means we won. Steve was my hero when I was ten when he gave me a new home and family. Steve was America's hero when he joined the army and took on the real role of Captain of the Howling Commandos. Steven Grant Rogers became the world's hero when he crashed that plane." She lifted her beer, "To Steve Rogers, the real Captain America."

She took a swallow of beer an stepped off the stage, sighing as she wiped unshed tears from her eyes. It had been harder to keep herself together than she thought. When she found her assigned table with the rest of the Howling Commandos, she took a seat, ignoring the empty seat where Bucky would have sat.

"So, why breakfast food?" Dum Dum asked.

"It was Steve's favorite. He would be ready to fight Bucky on Sunday mornings. For someone so skinny, he could eat. I blame Bucky for that, though. He was a boxer and could eat more than Steve and me put together, but that didn't stop Steve from trying."

Jonathan put his hand on her shoulder, "It's okay to talk about Sergeant Barnes."

She shook her head, "I'm not ready to talk about him. I wasn't ready to talk about Steve, but that was pushed on me. It makes me tired. There are too many emotions happening at one time, and all this attention. The journalists always wait until the last person is gone to ask questions. Howard can handle them, I can't."

The microphone made a dreadful noise, silencing everyone in the room as the man on stage tapped the microphone. He laughed awkwardly, "Uh, evening, everyone. I just had a few questions for Lorelei Winters, and since I couldn't find her, I'm hoping she'll be willing to talk to me." He cleared his throat as he pulled some cards from his jacket, "Okay, question one, Is it true you slept with Captain America?"

Lorelei didn't move as all eyes either looked around the room or looked at her. She was tired of this.

The man sighed, "I'm going to take your silence as a yes."

He screamed when his cards burst into flame and fell to the ground in ashes. Maybe the fire power wasn't so inconvenient after all. She picked up a piece of bacon, munching on it as she turned back to the Howling Commandos.

"When did that happen?" Sam asked.

"I don't know, to be honest," she replied as she sipped her orange juice. "I wasn't allowed to use my abilities in the trenches, so I basically forgot about them. I was in the lab with Howard when I wanted to use my ice powers and fire came out."

"You don't just forget that," Jim pointed out.

"After what I did, you do forget about it. Being on the front lines wasn't as great as Steve would have hoped. He lived in a black and white world, while the front lines are throw a glaring red into the mix. He wouldn't have been able to do what I did, not without losing a piece of himself."

"What happened?" Dum Dum asked.

She sighed, "I became the Angel of Death."

She thought the title to be interesting after being named Angel Eyes. The Angel of Death was a loosely used term for when someone killed a civilian, specifically a child.

All of them sat in silence, watching the neutral faced soldier stare at the plate of food in front of her. She felt like she was drowning, guilt clawing at her legs as it began to creep through her body. Taking a steady breath, she managed to push the guilt away as she looked at her comrades.

"How many?" Gabe asked.

"I killed over a hundred and fifty civilians. Twenty of them were children. The ones that weren't killed were relocated in safer areas. A lot of men brought children back with them."

"Lorelei, you need to leave," Howard said as he placed his hand on her shoulder, slipping his keys into her other hand. "The journalists are looking for blood now, and you're the one they want to talk to. Go home."

She dismissed herself, stealthily leaving the large room into the lobby of the hotel they had rented for the event. More journalists stood in the lobby, talking to each other and comparing notes. Her eyes found the emergency exit, which she eagerly took, leaving the chaos behind.

Climbing into the black Roadster, she sped off back to the mansion. The lack of media surprised Lorelei as she parked and headed inside. Quickly changing into her usual clothing, she headed to the lab to work on an exterior for the tracker that would fit into the sub Howard was building.

At some point Howard had returned with a journalist and slept with her because he entered the lab more cheerful and peppier than usual. "Good afternoon, Lore."

"Do you remember her name?" She teased as she soldered a wire to a base.

"Yes, actually. Violet Mercado, a lovely brunette from Florida. She used to travel with Steve."

"A show girl from Florida? That's one hell of a drive."

"No, she came up with the rest of the show girls with Senator Brandt." He sighed, "Lore, they're really out to get you now because of what happened with Sergeant Barnes. Please, tell me you didn't sleep with him."

Sighing, she put the solder down, looking at her friend, "I did not have sex with Bucky, but I did sleep with him. We had cleared another HYDRA base, where I watched a man cut another man's head off. We had just rescued him from the last HYDRA base. There were three or four other doctors, and I killed them without question. I spared the last one for questioning, but I don't know what happened to him. There were some soldiers in a cage, and I released them. In the corner of the room, there was a pile of bodies, all butchered and dismembered. Steve told me to drive back to camp, so I did. Three days without sleep, and I get back to the camp and go to my tent to get some rest. Bucky woke me up, laid down next to me and I fell asleep. I don't think Colonel Phillips cared, but Colonel Kennedy did. I was sent to the trenches where I became the Angel of Death."

"Good, I can clear that up now," Howard said with a wink and left.

Rolling her eyes, she went back to finishing the final touches of the tracker before it could get installed into the sub. After a few hours, Howard returned, smiling widely, "You can thank me later."

"I don't have to thank you yet. I'm finished with the tracker. Where do you plan to put it?"

The two began the long work of assembling the technology into the sub. When Howard took breaks, Lorelei continued. The pure motivation of needing the Tesseract was what kept her going. She could sleep another day, probably for a week at the rate she was going.

"Lorelei, there's someone I want you to meet!" Howard exclaimed as Lorelei pushed the welder's mask up from her face.

He was a charming man with gelled back brown hair and slender build. Dressed in a black suit with a blue tie, he gave her a polite smile, "Edwin Jarvis, at your service, ma'am."

She pulled her large plush glove from her hand and put it out, "Lorelei Winters. It's nice to meet you."

"Edwin is our new butler," Howard said proudly.

"I told you the maids weren't going to work for free," she told Howard with a pointed look before smiling at Edwin. "You don't have to worry about my wing. I keep it clean, and I won't bother you like Howard."

"He's going to be living on your side of the mansion since you're never there," Howard said with a bright smile. He sighed at the nasty glare she gave him, "Lore, sweetheart, you promised to move on. You're doing the same thing you did last time, burying yourself in so much work you're not sleeping or eating. With this Tesseract business still going on, we may need that super soldier to come back. You'll be useless."

She sighed as she scratched the back of her head, "Fine. Bucky used to take me to the YMCA for his boxing matches. I'll start working out there or something."

"Lore, I have a gym here," Howard said as he crossed his arms over his chest., pointing down, "It's under the lab."

"Is it fire proof?"

"We can make it that way," Howard said with a smirk as Edwin looked between the two.

"I'm sorry to ask, but why does it need to be fire proofed?" Edwin asked curiously.

"It's a long story," Howard and Lorelei replied as they all headed to the gym just below the lab.

She frowned at the equipment, looking ever the weights and other machines. "Howie, this is child's play. I'm going to need more weights if you want me to break a sweat."

"This gym was created for Steve Rogers. It caters to the super soldier needs, trust me."

She walked over to a twenty pound hand weight and picked it up, grunting a bit, "This isn't twenty pounds."

"It's two hundred," Howard said proudly. "I managed to compress two hundred pounds worth of metal into that. Now, I expect you to use this equipment until it breaks. We'll need all the power we can get of HYDRA comes."

"You mean when," Lorelei said as she put the weight down. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," he defended. "Now, I'll finish the sub, you work out. Come with me, Edwin."

Lorelei sighed as she picked up the weight with a bit more ease. If HYDRA attacked, she would no doubt lose Howard, and she couldn't lose anyone else.

Hours passed in the gym as she forced herself to push her limit as long as possible. Every time she would almost be at her breaking point, she would find a bit more strength to push through she finally stopped, dropping the dumbbell onto the ground and panting as she watched the metal bar steam.

Her god powers were showing up again. The longer she worked out, the more evident they became. One day, she was going to sit through a long workout, but she had other matters that demanded her attention.

Looking over her shoulder, she watched Edwin step up, his hands folded behind his back. "I was curious if you had anyone joining you for Thanksgiving."

She paused for a moment before swallowing and cracking a sad smile, "Uh, no. What about you? Going to see family?"

"My sister and her family," he smiled. "Would you like to come with me?"

She took a deep breath, slowly releasing it, "Um, when do you need an answer?"

"By tomorrow, if you could. Thanksgiving is Thursday after all."

She laughed, "Howard didn't tell you about me, did he? The last time I left this place was in October. I leave the lab to take a shower. I probably haven't eaten an entire meal since I got back in America. That's just how I am. Hopefully working out will work off some of the super soldier energy that's been building up, but I don't exactly know how or when that will happen. I was created to be a small army, so I eat like a small army, too."

He chuckled, "I see. Why don't you come with me to my sister's and I will tell her to make enough for two small armies. Her in-laws are always there, and between the group, there are nearly eleven children and thirty adults."

"And I'm just supposed to fit in? Edwin, did Howard put you up to this?" She asked.

"Yes and no. I can tell you want to get out of here, stand in the sun again. I don't know what you're going through, but would he want you to be in this condition?" He questioned worriedly.

"No, but I'm not sure I'm ready to leave. I can't handle questions about the war, and I'm waiting until the excitement is over before really addressing the public again."

"I see," he said blankly. "I will tell her to keep the questions off limits. Especially the newspaper articles about you and Captain America."

"Your sister is a journalist, isn't she? One that's well trusted and well known. Howard has met her multiple times, getting her opinion on various people because she's able to read people so easily and knows the truth from a lie. She needs or wants an interesting article, so why not do Thanksgiving with a veteran? Nothing could be better than meeting the controversial Master Sergeant Winters who was caught sleeping with another soldier that everyone assumes has to be Captain America. That's how Howard plans to clear my name."

Edwin stared in disbelief, "Well, yes. That was incredibly accurate."

Sighing, she shoved her hands in her pockets, "Fine. I'm doing it for Steve, not for me."

He smiled a bit, "That's very considerate of you."

When she headed to her room, she could feel the exhaustion starting to kick in, as well as the hunger. Deciding it would be best to take a shower, she took a long, hot shower, relaxing her more than she needed. It wasn't until she fell on her bed that she remembered her hunger. She could eat in the morning.

Being the first to wake up, she rummaged through the fridge, quickly making as much breakfast as she could handle. A pile of scrambled eggs and bacon sat on her plate as she took a seat at the kitchen table and began eating as much and as quickly as she could, most of her attention on the slow coffee pot.

"Miss Winters, what are you doing up so early?" Edwin asked.

"I was too hungry to stay asleep," she replied as she got up and poured a cup of coffee, quickly draining the mug and pouring another cup. Placing her hand on his shoulder, she gave him a sympathetic look, "Small army."

"Yes, two dozen eggs qualifies as a small army," he replied sarcastically.

"I'm still hungry, but I don't have time to eat more. I need to go work out and get my super soldier strength back. I'll see you soon."

When she got to the gym, Howard was already there, putting something up. She beamed at the Captain America poster, tears flowing from her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Just a little motivational poster. I, uh, have a picture of Bucky, too, if you want that in here."

She wiped the tears from her face, "Yeah. I can't do it without them."

"Alright, get started, and I'll start working on Bucky's poster."

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, thinking back to the training Bucky would do for his boxing. When he didn't have time to go to the gym, he would work out at home using her as his weight.

As it came to her, she wrote it down on Steve's poster. Would it be enough? She knew she had to push herself as far as she could. Her Asgardian blood needed to make itself known to her so she could figure out this fire that had recently developed. If she could just break through.

Hours of repetition, adding onto the weights and effort made her feel like she was wasting her time. There was nothing that could solve her problem as she tossed the dumbbell with a thousand pounds to the side, the barbell glowing orange from the heat.

Her legs gave up when she stepped onto the roof. The Winter air took a lot of the growing heat from her body. The sky didn't match Bucky's eyes, but they reminded her of Steve. Frowning, she grasped the locket around her neck and stood. It was time to try.

Heading to her room, she ignored the wonderful smell of food and took a shower. Her body shook in anticipation as she pulled on her old uniform, throwing her dog tags over her neck and staring at the ring Bucky wanted to use as an engagement ring. It was a gold band with three diamonds, the one in the middle being bigger than the two on the side. Simply beautiful in her eyes.

Placing it in her dufflebag, she threw a few more clothes and pictures into the bag and headed to the roof. Barely able to stand, she cleared her throat and looked at the sky, "Heimdall! My name is Lorelei Annabelle Winters, and I live on Earth where the Tesseract was to be kept under my family's watch! My family has let King Odin down, and I wish to obtain the power to get the Tesseract back where it belongs!"


	4. Chapter 4

Lorelei smiled as she placed her hand on the poster of Bucky Howard had gotten her. It broke her heart to know she would never see that smile, never see those eyes only God could create, touch the wonderfully blissful soft hair.

She was well aware of how alone she was, but it didn't seem so bad this time. Survivor's guilt and the shed of innocent blood that covered her conscience blocked out the loneliness. She didn't deserve Steve or Bucky. There was no justifying what she had done. The agony she experienced, whether it be awake or asleep, wasn't punishment enough.

"They would be proud of you," Howard said as he stepped into the gym.

"I know. We had plans. Once the Asgard part of me got answered, Bucky and I were going to get married. He adored technology and the things you made, but he liked his mechanic work as well. Working here would have been a dream come true. Hell, seeing this place would have been enough for him. Now, he'll never know if he could work for you. He'll never see a car fly. I can't help but wonder what our kids would be like, or if we would even have kids. Would we stay in the city, or move a bit farther out?"

Before she could spiral into another depression episode, Howard asked, "Are you ready to go? It's a long ride to Minnesota."

She looked at Steve's poster then Bucky's, smiling sadly, "Yeah. I guess so."

She shrugged on her duffle bag, packed with the same apparel and items she had grabbed for her trip to Asgard. Every day at dawn, she would talk to the sky, wondering if Heimdall was even real. It had only been five days, but she still held some hope she would be taken to Asgard.

What she would do when she got there was a different question. There was no code of conduct mentioned in any book. All the stories were about war, something she was not eager to experience again, but if it got her the answers she wanted, she would be more than happy to oblige.

When they stepped outside, Lorelei held her arm out, stopping Howard from getting any closer to the brunette woman dressed in a mustard colored dress that touched the ground, hiding her feet. She had a matching cape draped over her shoulders, the lining a lovely silver-lavender color with intricate designs Lorelei had seen in the Norse books. Her brown hair was curled and stacked on top of her head, a thin silver band holding it in place. The sequins on her chest and white lace part of her dress Eire glowing in the winter sun giving her an almost angelic look.

"Hello, Lorelei Winters of Earth. I am Lady Frigga, queen of Asgard," she greeted, taking a graceful step forward. "Heimdall has told me of your pleas. Many centuries have passed since the Tesseract was taken and left in the care of Skadi."

"The goddess of winter?" Lorelei asked, a bit surprised. "She had other duties, didn't she?"

"Her mastery of archery was needed in Asgard, which was why she left. The Tesseract was left in the care of her descendants. We sent Frey to take her place. He, too, returned to Asgard when King Odin wished for peace between Asgard and Nidavellir."

"His descendants mixed with Skadi's descendants," Lorelei concluded to which Lady Frigga nodded.

"You, yourself, admitted the Tesseract has gone missing. That is a serious crime, Lorelei Winters. However, you have asked us for help in retrieving and keeping the Tesseract safe. Only a god could keep the Tesseract safe. You, a descendent of the gods, will be able to protect the Tesseract." She took a few more steps forward until she was arms length away from Lorelei, "Will you come with me to gain this power?"

Lorelei looked over her shoulder at Howard, who stood in awe of the queen in front of him. He cleared his throat when he looked at Lorelei, "Right, you go ahead. I'll keep looking for the Tesseract and Steve."

"Don't die before I get back," Lorelei smiled.

"Try to come back," he said as he looked at Lady Frigga again. "If the men are half as attractive as the women, you may not come back."

"I'll see you around, Howie. Be careful." She hugged her friend before looking at Lady Frigga, "Okay. I'm ready."

"Heimdall, open the Bifrost," she ordered with a kind smile.

A bright light appeared in the sky, slamming onto the two women. Lorelei decided she was not a fan of feeling so much body crushing pressure as her feet left the ground, rocketing her into space.

Before she knew it, her body was on a cold, flat surface. In front of her was a giant dark skinned man clad in golden armor, his honey colored eyes suspicious as he examined her.

"Mortal, you have no right to summon the Bifrost," he said pointedly.

"She is a descendent of Skadi and Frey. I grant her permission to use the Bifrost, only to return to Midgard," Frigga told him as Lorelei slowly got to her feet and picked up her bag.

The odd dome they were in was silver with a stand in the middle where a rectangular hole stuck out. "What's that?"

"The key to opening the Bifrost. Heimdall's sword is the only key."

Lorelei swallowed, "I apologize for my rudeness, Lord Heimdall. I need help."

He looked away, uninterested in her excuses. Lady Frigga smiled as she began to walk out of the room, Lorelei a few feet behind as her eyes moved to the rainbow prism bridge that rippled in color with every step.

Water surrounded them in every direction, though a large city lay ahead that glittered in the rising sun. The buildings were like spires, rising tall and appearing like gold. What looked to be a large pyramid of spires was the backdrop of the city, something Lorelei believed to be the the equivalent of a castle back on Earth.

She watched as odd birds flew around, resembling what she believed to be phoenixes, colorful with long flowing tails. Large fish resembling whales swam beneath the bridge, a dizzying experience due to the translucent bridge. Swift whinnies rushed above her, leaving nothing but a flash of white above the bridge. Flying horses weren't unheard of in the Norse mythology. Believing in a Pegasus wasn't too bizarre anymore.

Soon, they reached the edge of the city, well worn dirt paths that led in different directions to the smaller homes of citizens who didn't enjoy the crowded city. People would stop what they were doing and kneel as they passed, bringing a forgotten question to the forefront of Lorelei's mind.

"Lady Frigga, why did you come for me? There are plenty of others under your command that could have retrieved me," Lorelei pointed out as she awkwardly stepped to the queen's side.

"I am the only one capable of being gentle with a human such as yourself. I knew the moment I saw you, you are suffering a great loss. You lost your lover and your dearest friend. You believe you have murdered numerous amounts of people, and you hope to die here in Asgard." Lady Frigga gave her a sympathetic look, "You murdered no one, Lorelei. And this Steve that your friend is searching for, who is he?"

"Steve was my friend. He died a hero's death, sacrificing himself for the world."

"If that is the case, why search for him?" She asked curiously.

"To give him a proper burial, I suppose." She scratched the back of her head, "Since there's no body, they haven't officially ruled him as dead. The same could be said about Bucky, but he fell off a train into a mountain valley. A regular human couldn't survive that."

"Are you not a regular human?"

"No, not really. A scientist created this serum to make a stronger human, a one man army. There were two of us, Steve and myself. We were nothing before that."

"Surely not. Everyone is someone," Lady Frigga smiled.

"I was a blind seamstress, and Steve was a volunteer at anywhere that would take him," Lorelei explained. She twitched a smile at Lady Frigga's shock, "The serum fixed my eyes."

"Goodness, humans are more advanced than I believed."

"The scientist that created the serum was assassinated, so there's no more advancing with the super soldier."

Lorelei went quiet as she realized where she was. An emerald floor decorated with sharp gold designs expanded over the vast room, turning into stairs that plateaued into a golden stair leading to the throne. Two rows of tall soldiers with spears lined the path to the stair of emerald and gold. The throne had two giant snakes as arm rests, their blank eyes looking toward the court. Ravens rested on top of the large wing-like structures behind the throne.

What was worse was there was a man sitting on the throne. Upon the old man"/ head was a horned crown of gold, part dropping down to cover his left eye. The armor he wore was dark with golden accents and a red cape. In his hand was a large spear made of gold with intricate designs Lorelei couldn't quite describe.

Lorelei remained still as Lady Frigga walked ahead. The queen spoke quietly to the old man before looking at Lorelei as she stepped to the side. "You may approach, Lady Lorelei of Midgard."

She remained confident, not looking at the soldiers that lined her way to the stairs where she paused, unsure of what to do next. Remembering the citizens, she quickly dropped to her knees, slamming one on the edge of the stairs, and squeaking back a groan.

"You may rise," the man on the throne said, his voice echoing in the chamber. Once she was standing, she kept her gaze on the king as he looked her over, "What are you wearing?"

"These are the clothes of America's soldiers, your highness," she answered truthfully.

He smiled a bit, "So, Midgard has a woman army as well, good. Tell me more."

"Well, we don't have an army of women. Not that I know of, at least. The three years I fought, I didn't meet another woman."

"Interesting," he mumbled. "Why were you the only woman?"

"Just lucky, I guess," she replied as she rubbed her arm, looking at the glistening gold of his spear. Clearing her throat, she looked back at the king, "I was part of an experiment and selected to join the war with a friend who went through the same treatment."

"And how did you lose the Tesseract?"

Clenching her fists, she looked at the ground, "I chased the wrong man. About three years ago, my friend and I went on a rescue mission to retrieve over two hundred soldiers from our enemy. They got in an elevator, and I thought they had gone down, when they went up. Until that moment, I knew nothing of the Tesseract. Our enemy, an organization called HYDRA managed to create weapons from the Tesseract's energy. I was hit by the weapon, and I can only guess it awoken the god blood in me. I could control ice."

"Have you lost that ability?"

"Uh, no, your highness," she stuttered as she opened her hand, a small flame crackling to life, "It's fire, now."

"Ah, I can see where you would be confused. You are a descendent of the goddess of winter and god of summer. Your powers are in sync with the solstice. I suggest you keep a closer eye on the calendar, young Midgardian," King Odin explained. He looked at Lady Frigga, "She would do well with Loki. He is better with magic than Thor."

"I agree, dear," Lady Frigga said, making Lorelei's blood go cold.

The god of chaos was going to be her teacher. There had been terrible things in those books about Loki, including his Frost Giant heritage. Did he know? What did he look like? He was a shapeshifter, so he could be anyone.

"Lady Lorelei, if you would please follow me," a brunette called from behind her.

Lorelei swallowed thickly before following the light orange dressed woman down the stone halls. It was her first time to actually look at the kingdom as she followed the woman. The ceilings were luxuriously high with beautiful columns lining the walls. Giant paintings of heroes, beasts, birds, and former rulers decorated the place as well as golden and marble statues. Every so often, she would notice a large plant that would resemble a fern or small tree.

The woman suddenly dropped to her knees, startling Lorelei to do the same, though she had no idea who was there. Chancing a look, she looked at the man towering over her, slicked back black hair that reached his shoulders, piercing blue eyes annoyed with her presence. His garb was green and gold, a dagger at his hip glittered in the nearby torch light.

"Who are you?" He asked curiously, the iciness in his tone subtle.

"Lorelei Winters, your highness," she announced, wondering if she had said his title correctly. Princes were called highness, too.

"And, where are you from, Lorelei Winters?"

"Brooklyn," she answered automatically before grimacing, "Um, Earth."

"Midgard," the woman with her said as she slowly began to stand.

He looked at the woman, clearly angry from the invasion, "What is she doing over here?"

The woman hesitated as Lorelei stood, rubbing her knee that she had slammed on the staircase. "She's following orders from Queen Frigga. I'm to be Prince Loki's apprentice."

The woman stared at her in horror, taking a few steps away as the shock on the man's face began to slowly fade to a charming smile, "Well, Lady Lorelei, let me introduce myself. I am Prince Loki." He looked at the woman, "I will show her the rest of the way. You may go."

Lorelei wanted to stop the woman but adjusted her hold on the bag as she looked back to the tall, slender man. "We don't have kings, queens, or princes where I'm from, so I don't know what to do," Lorelei explained under his criticizing gaze.

"Yet, you have magic," he said as he began to walk slowly away. He was almost down the hallway when he looked back, "Are you not coming?"

She quickly walked to his side, looking at the ground as he waited for her answer. "I'm the exception to the rule," she told him nervously.

"Your world does not have magic?" He asked, bewildered by the thought of no magic.

"All we had was the Tesseract, and we lost that. That's why I came. I need help with my abilities."

He chuckled, "I assure you, you have the best teacher in Asgard."

They stopped in front of a room with large gold doors, the handles like a setting sun, the beams extending over the doors. Loki gave her an encouraging nod as she reached out and opened the large door with ease. It had a monstrously large bed and even a futon. There was a dresser and cupboard she was sure would be filled with clothing.

"Do not argue with our hospitality," Loki said with a smile. "Make yourself at home, and please, get out of that. I will retrieve you for supper."

When he closed the door, Lorelei sat on the bed and ran her fingers through her hair. It barely touched her shoulders, now, but she doubted her hair could live up to the beauty of the gods around her.

No matter how many times she was shot by the Tesseract gun, she would never become a god, that much she knew. Her words would need to be monitored for the remainder of her time in Asgard. The ones that needed to know her story had been told.

After taking a few deep breaths, she stood, going to the cupboard and opening to find at least fifty dresses crammed together. All the Asgardians had been so tall, she was certain they had packed the closet full of children's dresses. Skeptically, she reached out and grabbed the first on, a lilac dress, wispy drapes hanging from the straps to cover her arms in the sheer fabric.

From what she could tell, there was no need for makeup. She hadn't met many Asgardians, but they were a warrior race, according to mythology. If anyone wore makeup, it would be the men's war paint.

"That's much better," Loki said as he stepped into the room. "Are all humans your size?"

"No, most women are probably Lady Frigga's height, and most men are about your height."

He laughed, "Skadi was a giant. It makes your story difficult to believe."

She wondered where her fear had gone when he showed the dagger in his hand. Was she truly not afraid of Death? Frowning, she watched him put the tip of the dagger on her chest.

"If I find out that you are lying, I will kill you," he promised.

"Do it now, and it will save you some time," she challenged.

He narrowed his eyes as he put his dagger away, "Do you not fear death? Perhaps you simply haven't experienced it."

"I tried to kill myself almost ten years ago. The man I was going to marry and my dearest friend died in war. Had I not promised to live on, I wouldn't be here. I killed many people in that war, over a hundred and fifty of them being innocent, and twenty of them were children. I do know death, Prince Loki, and I welcome it."

She tensed up when he put his arm around her shoulder and laughed, "Come, Lady Lorelei. I do believe we will be good friends, after all."

She gave him a questioning look from the corner of her eye as he led her down the large stone halls that became a maze in her mind. Loud laughter and singing could be heard behind large golden doors with a large tree engraved on it. Yggdrasil, the tree of life.

Loki opened the door, revealing hundreds of men and women dining happily and drinking their fill as they ate the food before them. "It is a bit barbaric, but it is fun," Loki said as he led her into the loud room.

The familiar stench of alcohol made her smile a bit as she dodged glasses getting thrown across the room, various maidens walking around with plates of glass pints as they passed out more drink.

She watched as Loki went to sit at the head table with his parents, making her freeze on the spot as she looked around for a place to sit. She blushed a bit when Loki appeared in front of her and dragged her to the empty seat by him. The entire hall went silent as Lorelei sat down, all eyes on her.

"Absolutely not!" A woman exclaimed.

The brunette that had led her most of the way to her new living quarters stormed to the front, her face red from anger and embarrassment, "I challenge you to a duel, Midgardian!"

Lorelei looked at Loki who was looking at her. He smirked, "What will you do?"

"I don't know what a duel is, and I don't know why she's challenging me. I need context."

"A duel is a fight to the death using a weapon of your choice. Dagmar, why are you challenging Lady Lorelei to a duel?" Lady Frigga asked.

"No Midgardian should be sitting with the Royal family! Especially not one so weak as her!"

Lorelei propped her cheek on her fist as she looked down at the maiden, "And what if I decide to not kill her?"

"She must shave her head to show she was worthy of pity."

"Then, I accept the challenge," Lorelei said, earning a loud cheer from the entire room.

Dagmar looked terrified as Lorelei smirked down at her. Lorelei had mystery on her side. She did need help with her powers, but she knew enough to be dangerous.

"Did you think this through?" Loki asked as Lorelei began eating the purple meat in front of her.

"She won't kill me. When is the duel?"

"After supper," he replied scrunching his nose in disgust as she started shoveling food into her mouth. "I thought better of you."

She chased her food with the entire pint of ale, coughing a bit from the intense buzz that suddenly hit her. The world was spinning as she forced herself to deal with the overwhelming alcohol. After nearly twenty minutes, she was sobered up again, much to the surprise of Loki. She stood, "Please show me my way back to my room. My weapons are in there."

A smirk formed on Loki's lips as he stood, joining her out of the hall to go to her room. "You know, I could take your place."

She looked at him, only to see herself staring back. When he returned to his form, she shook her head, "I can't have you fighting my battles. It wouldn't be the first time I've had my head shaved, so I'm not worried about it."

"What do you plan to do?"

"I have no idea. I can't fight in this, though."

When she got to her room, Loki waited outside as she dressed in her specialized uniform, tugging the coat tight as she buttoned it. Rummaging through her bag, she began attaching her guns and knives to the belt. Her heart plummeted when she pulled out the picture of her and Bucky on New Years.

That was why she was there in the first place. She needed the power to take down HYDRA and protect the Tesseract. Carefully placing the picture frame on the vanity near her bed, she headed to the door, opening it to Loki rolling his eyes at her appearance.

"We'll get you accustomed to Asgardian culture before we start your magic lessons."

She was more lost as Loki took her through new halls and different corridors than before, until they arrived at what appeared to be a coliseum. Everyone from the dining hall was present, and possibly more from what Lorelei could tell. She could hear a betting pool going on in some parts as Loki began looking her over.

"Now, in a duel, all magic is allowed, but only one weapon. Hand over everything but the weapon you plan to use."

She began pulling all the guns from her belt, her eyes locking on Dagmar in a predatory manner. She had changed her clothing as well, silver armor with a blue cape. Lorelei was a bit excited about trying out her specialized uniform on a sword.

"Only barbarians smile before a fight," Loki grumbled.

"I worked hard on this uniform. It didn't get disintegrated by the Tesseract blast, so I'm hoping it won't get cut with a sword. I'm looking forward to how it turns out."

A horn was blown, signaling Lorelei to enter the ring. Dagmar looked more confident, but there was still some nervousness in her eyes as she looked down at Lorelei.

Lorelei examined her opponent carefully, looking for any weak points. There were too many. Before Lorelei could say anything, King Odin silenced everyone, "What are the terms of this fight?"

"If she loses, she will no longer be allowed to sit at the Royal table," Dagmar said.

"If she loses, she will not be allowed to duel me again over such a petty thing," Lorelei declared.

"The terms are accepted. You may begin!"

Lorelei narrowed her eyes as Dagmar took the first move, sprinting at her, sword ready to slash. With ease, Lorelei lifted her knife, the blade holding back the sword. The power of a god became obvious when her knife suddenly cracked under the force, breaking as the sword followed through with its slice.

Lorelei frowned at the ripped fabric stained red with her blood. She still had her arm, but no weapon. Dagmar had a confident smile as Lorelei ripped off the remainder of her sleeve, blood streaming down her arm and dripping from her fingertips.

Hazel eyes briefly glanced at the hilt in her hand as she focused her power to where the blade had once been. Sparks crackled around the hilt until an unsteady flame took the place of the blade.

"You can't control that. You'll die," Dagmar warned, glancing warily at the flickering blade.

A cynical smile formed on Lorelei's lips, "This was a battle to the death, wasn't it?"

The temperature began to rise, parts of the arena sparking, occasional flames appearing then disappearing. As the heat disappeared, Lorelei attacked, her blade of flame steady and still as she sliced through Dagmar's blade and armor, knocking the woman back.

Dagmar glared as she got back to her feet, "You're not the only one that can use magic."

The blade of flame extended, resting inches from Dagmar's chest. "I win," Lorelei said darkly.

When Lorelei lowered her blade, the hilt turned to ash as she fell to her knees, exhausted and starving. Loki sighed as he walked to her side, "You nearly killed yourself trying to prove yourself. Get up so we can clean you up."

She reached for his offered hand, but paused for a moment. Was she allowed to touch him?

He huffed as he reached down, grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet, "Come."

"Is there any food left? I'm starving."

Loki rolled his eyes, "I will see what I can find. That will give us a head start on manners."

Lady Frigga was kind enough to heal Lorelei rather than send her to a healer. Though the technicalities didn't make sense, Dagmar's sword had been poisoned making their fight unfair. In Lorelei's opinion, poison would have been fair play, but it wasn't her decision.

Loki had food brought to Lorelei's room where he spent hours teaching her how to eat.

"How are you eating so much?" Loki asked as he watched her finish another plate filled with food.

"They wanted a one man army, so I have to eat like an army," she answered, drinking water from the goblet he had given her.

He shook his head, "You humans are strange creatures."

She shrugged, "Everyone has their quirks."

He watched as she carefully gathered up the plates, stacking them together with other items that needed to be washed, "What are you doing?"

"I was going to ask you to lead me to the kitchen so I could wash the dishes." Her eyes widened as she looked at him, "You don't wash dishes?"

"Of course not, that's for servants," he dismissed.

"So, they're just going to stay in here until someone gets them?"

"You sound displeased," he smirked.

"It would be faster for me to go ahead and take it to the kitchen and wash them myself."

Narrowing his eyes, he approached her, "Are all humans so willing to be slaves?"

"Slaves? No one wants to be a slave."

"Then, why do you insist on doing a slave's work?"

"Trying to be helpful does not make someone a slave," Lorelei stated as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Loki sighed and headed to the door, "Get some sleep. I will send someone for you at dawn."

When he left, Lorelei sat on the bed, looking at the picture on the vanity. She was ready to go home and be the weapons expert working with Howard Stark. When she wasn't riddled with guilt, she was drowning in regret.

This was her life. Every choice she made put her in Asgard. Moving in with Steve and Bucky, getting the super soldier serum, going to Asgard, all choices she made. The only aspect of her life she didn't choose was getting shot by the Tesseract gun. If she could go back, she would. She wouldn't sleep with Bucky, instead enduring the nightmares of the dismembered bodies rather than suffer the nightmares of dead children that haunted her. Maybe Bucky would still be alive she hadn't let the nightmares win.

Lorelei woke up when the door opened. A blonde haired woman clad in a green dress gave a brief bow, "Prince Loki has sent for you and wishes for me to help you get ready."

She followed the woman to a large stone bath that was already filled with steaming water. From what she could tell, it was a natural hot spring of some kind. She did not enjoy the large open windows by the bath that looked over the city. In the windows were glass bottles with different liquids inside, what Lorelei assumed would be shampoo or soap, though alcohol was not far from her guessing.

The woman left, allowing Lorelei to bathe in peace, dispite the awkward world view. It was a nice view, she decided as she climbed from the hot springs and wrapped herself in the towel the woman had left. When she left the room with the hot spring, she found a navy dress much like the one she had worn the night before laid out for her.

The fabric was lighter than she remembered, though the night before had been a whirlwind of an experience. She skeptically eyed the leather sandals before slipping them on and brushing the dress to smooth it.

Just before she could leave, the blonde woman returned, forcing Lorelei to sit at the vanity where she began styling her hair. She winced with the sharp tugs the woman had, biting back snarky remarks or any signs of discomfort. The servants weren't particularly kind, but Lorelei had found the royal family to be charming.

With the braiding finished, the blonde led Lorelei to a new place, a private dining room where Loki sat alone. He smiled when Lorelei sat by him, looking from him to the food in front of her then back to him.

"Until your manners are perfect, we will be eating alone. Now, let me show you how to eat," he said as he grabbed his fork and knife.

Lorelei mirrored his movements, watching and listening closely as he explained step by step what he was doing. Before they finished breakfast, she was able to properly eat and hold a steady conversation with him without being rude.

"You learn quickly, that's good," he praised. "You will be able to return to your home sooner than I believed."

"I have an amazing teacher," she complimented with a kind smile.

"Come, it is time for your lessons to begin," he said as he stood.

He gave her simple instructions on how to walk and how to speak to anyone in the royal family. She had no idea she had been rude by walking next to Lady Frigga's side. It was something the royal family permitted, causing Lorelei to walk nearly three feet behind Loki. She knew he was just teasing when he wouldn't allow her to walk by him, though she had more difficulty keeping up with him at the distance.

Her feet stopped at the edge of the coliseum she had been in the night before, her eyes moving over the empty stands. Maintaining her distance, she followed Loki further until they stood at the center of the coliseum. Without the audience, the place seemed much larger, grander than it had.

Much like the Roman coliseum, this was carved from white stone, the stands toting over a hundred feet. The arena was probably the size of a football field, giving them plenty of room to practice magic. At least, she hoped it would be plenty of room.

"Today will be very boring, and your lessons will continue to be very boring until you've mastered this," Loki said as he walked up to her. "You must learn how to breathe. I don't know what they teach you on Earth, but you breathe too heavily and too quickly. So, stand there, and learn how to breathe."

That did sound boring. Lorelei closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing, trying to match Loki's steady, quiet breaths. As he paced, she could barely hear him. Every once in a while, he would tell her to focus or stand straighter, but he continuously circled her. Without much instruction to go on, she did her best to learn how to breathe, though she wasn't certain how to go about it.

"Good," Loki said, bringing her from her concentration. "Now, we walk until you can breathe like that without thinking."

They wandered the halls in silence, going up and down multiple stairways to keep her heart rate up and test her concentration and focus. Just as Lorelei began to get hungry, Loki led her into the private dining room where they had had breakfast.

"Continue to focus on your breathing," Loki instructed as she carefully sat down.

He continued to instruct her as she attempted to eat without trying to swallow all of it in one bite. Her determination outweighed her need to eat quickly. She had to keep attentive to her manners as well as watch her breathing. Each bite and swallow was thought out before acted.

"You have incredible self control," Loki noted as she continued to carefully swallow the water that had been given to her.

She didn't reply, only giving a grateful look. If she spoke, she would forget how to breathe correctly. Once they had finished lunch, the two began walking again, Lorelei focusing on breathing as well as walking. She did not walk as gracefully as the women of Asgard, something Loki decided to fix while working on her breathing exercises.

"At least you can walk now," Loki commented as they returned to the private dining room.

She still hadn't spoken, though she had grown weary of her own silence. Loki didn't seem to mind the silent company, having told her how peaceful the halls were without his loud brother, Thor being the one to accompany him.

Again, her focus pulled from breathing to eating to manners as she tried to listen to him critique everything she had done so far.

He smiled, "A few more days of this and you will be able to hold a conversation."

She hoped she would be able to talk soon. What was worse was her need to yawn and sigh. Her lighter breathing meant less oxygen, but she continued to fight the need. She was going to master the art of breathing.

After supper, he walked her back to her room, letting her rest, though she continued to focus on her breathing when he left. She removed the braid from her hair, letting her hair fall around her face again as she stared at the floor.

Magic was a bitch.

Laying on the bed, she fought the urge to take a deep breath, instead keeping her mind on the lighter breaths as she tried to will herself to sleep.

The same blonde woman woke her in the morning, this time telling Lorelei her name, Asta. Repeating the ritual from the morning before, Lorelei got dressed in a light blue dress, sitting at the vanity where Asta roughly braided her hair again.

Lorelei made her way to the private dining hall, finding Loki alone once again, smirking as he watched her enter. "Your breathing is well maintained. How about we try talking today?"

"Of course," she replied, her voice shaking from the lack of use.

"You look lovely in that dress," he complimented as she carefully sat down, eyebrows furrowed as she tried to figure out how to speak without disrupting her focus on breathing.

"Thank you," she replied carefully, though smiling kindly at the prince.

"The picture you have in your room, you kissing that man, who is he?" Loki asked, watching as Lorelei slowly lowered the goblet from her lips.

"He was the man I was going to marry," she replied, her voice even with her breathing. She watched as Loki took Bucky's form. He had the same stupid smile on his lips, but it wasn't his. "Don't mock him," she said coolly.

Loki returned to his form, smiling, "My, touchy subject, I see."

"Should your mother die, and some imposter try to mimic her if only a second, would you allow that to pass without consequence?" She asked him.

He chuckled, "You think you can punish me?"

"No one is above punishment, Prince Loki. We simply refer to it as revenge," Lorelei said as she finished eating and followed the chaotic god from the room.

She followed him to the coliseum, where he smiled at her, "You've mastered breathing. Now, time for another boring lesson. Show me your fire." She opened her hand, a few sparks appearing before a small flame floated in her palm. "Now, let's take a walk, shall we?"

She followed him throughout the kingdom, up and down stairs, monitoring her breathing, watching the flame, and correcting her posture while speaking with Loki. The new way of breathing made the flame much easier to manage. Her thoughts were clearer, stronger, confident.

When they returned to the private dining hall, he gave her a smirk, "Keep the flame up while you eat."

The flame floated above her as she ate, doing her best to monitor everything she was supposed to be doing. Loki corrected her when she began slipping in concentration, which was minimal at the moment.

When they stepped out of the private dining hall, they continued their walk. Lorelei was starting to enjoy their walks, learning parts of the castle and how to get to where she needed to be.

They had supper in the private dining hall again, though this time Lady Frigga joined them. "I can tell your training is going well, Lorelei. You're practically glowing."

"Prince Loki has been an amazing teacher," Lorelei praised with a smile.

"Well, she has a talent for it," Loki smiled.

"How long do you plan to stay with us?" Lady Frigga asked.

"Until I know for certain I can defeat HYDRA," Lorelei replied evenly. "Defeating HYDRA is the only way to keep the Tesseract safe."

"Lorelei, you have a home in Asgard, should you wish to return once you've retrieved the Tesseract," Lady Frigga said with a smile.

Lorelei gave a grateful nod, "Thank you for your generosity, Lady Frigga."

Frigga and Loki left together, letting Lorelei eat in silent peace for the first time since she arrived. As tempting as the offer seemed, Lorelei wouldn't stay in Asgard. She had a life on Earth, one she planned to pick up after she returned to destroy HYDRA. Asgard, as beautiful as it was, had nothing compared to Earth.

Once Lorelei finished eating she headed to her room, sitting on the bed and grasping her locket. She was homesick again, but Bucky wasn't there to help her through it. Steve wasn't there to tell her everything was going to fine.

"You're distracted," Loki said as Lorelei lazily threw another snowball across the coliseum.

Controlling her ice abilities came as naturally as it had last time. The familiar feeling had brought the most out of her, a winter wonderland taking over the coliseum where she fought Dagmar. It brought her a shred of happiness and normalcy she hadn't had in years.

"I can do more with ice than I can with fire. Then again, it was actually cold when I picked up this ability. Even that chill is back," she grumbled as she rubbed her arm.

"If you're so confident in your skills, shall we fight?" Loki suggested as he crunched through the snow, standing by her.

"What are the terms?" Lorelei asked.

Her heart sank when he touched the locket on her neck, "If I win, you give me this."

"If I win, you will not touch it again," she said icily.

She grabbed his hand before he could stab her with his dagger. He chuckled as he pulled his hand free from her freezing grip. "I haven't seen you fight with such anger in your heart. You shouldn't let that cloud your judgment."

He jumped out of the way of an ice spike shooting from the ground, only to get slammed by a large snow boulder. Lorelei kept her distance as she looked down at what she recognized to be a copy.

She spun around, kicking Loki in the chest before a cold wind surrounded her, turning her body to snow so she wouldn't be harmed by his attack. Her body gained its form behind Loki as he stood in the shadows, watching the snow covered field with cunning eyes.

Ice shot up from the ground around the copy in the middle of the field as Lorelei kicked the real Loki in the back, sending him to the ground. He rolled over, eyes wide in disbelief that he had been momentarily outfoxed.

He chuckled, "If all humans are as dedicated to the dead as you, I'm surprised they haven't died out yet."

"Why do you want me to forget them?"

"Not forget. I simply wish to help you move on with your life. When you let that go, you will be able to find happiness again," Loki told her.

"I will never be happy, Prince Loki. Destroying HYDRA will bring me peace. Once I have peace, I can move on."

She wasn't surprised when he held up her locket, though she had no idea when he managed to get it. "When you are able to steal this back from me, you will be allowed to return to Earth. That will be your true training."

She clenched her fists, holding her anger back as she tried to process how to best steal something back from the god of chaos. As he walked away, she fell onto her back into the snow and stared at the sky.

What didn't make sense was his fascination of her pain. He had tried many different things to make her uncomfortable, most being unsuccessful, though she did scream when he was in her bathroom shortly after she had gotten into the hot water.

"Ah, hello, Lady Lorelei," a familiar voice greeted, his heavy steps thundering through the snow.

She tilted her head to look at the thunder god before looking back at the sky, "Hello, Prince Thor."

Much to Loki's dismay, she had met Thor when she was watching a drinking game that she thought about joining. At the time, she had no idea she was calling the prince a featherweight, even though she had yet to join their game.

The blond God laughed, "Come now, no titles are needed amongst friends."

"Then stop calling me Lady Lorelei," she grumbled as she sat up and stretched. "How can I be of assistance?"

He gave her a glowing smile as he pulled her to her feet, "I knew I could count on you. You're so helpful!"

"Where are we going?" She asked as she jogged to keep up with him.

"To the fields!" He announced excitedly. When she didn't argue, Thor paused and looked at his tiny companion, "Is something wrong?"

"I have to get my locket back from Loki. He said my training would be complete when I got it back, so I have to figure out how to do that."

Thor frowned, "That is the necklace with the men you love, is it not?"

She nodded, "I'm starting to think he doesn't want me to go back. He seems to have such hatred toward them."

"Those evil creatures killed your friends. He does not want you to suffer the same fate."

"I will not die at the hands of HYDRA. I must destroy them first," she said confidently.

"Well, Lady Lorelei, I will support your endeavors, even if I don't approve them. You have the spirit of a warrior champion."

"You would have loved Steve," she said as they left the kingdom, heading to the fields where the Pegasuses were kept.

The blood left her face as she stared at the Warriors Three, holding down a giant Pegasus that had yet to be trained. Volstagg smirked, his bushy red beard flowing in the wild winds of the fields. "Finally decided to take up your place in the army?"

"Once a soldier, always a soldier," she replied lamely as she approached the wild beast. "I'm not a Valkyrie, so I shouldn't have a Pegasus."

Thor laughed, "Nonsense! Besides, we aren't putting you in with the Valkyrie. We have a small bet going that you won't be able to tame it." He winked as he roughly nudged her, nearly knocking her over, "I have faith in you."

"You plan on sharing those winnings?" Lorelei asked.

"Well, of course! You deserve money as well, do you not?"

The question caught her off guard, all trace of happiness leaving as she looked at the large beast. "Prince Thor, how long am I to stay in the kingdom?" She looked at him, "Or perhaps a job?"

"Train that creature first, then we will discuss your future," he instructed with a confident smile. "Release him."

Lorelei shielded her face as large white wings beat violently, sending the large horse into the air. Her hazel gaze followed the creature as it a chilly breeze wrapped around her before shooting into the sky and capturing the horse. The horse was caught in the chilly wind, slowly lowered to the ground as frost collected on its fur and feathers. When it's legs touched the ground, a thin, but strong layer had iced its wings to its sides where it couldn't fly.

Walking to a nearby barrel of fruit, she pulled out a green banana they called a Karpi and headed to the frozen Pegasus that violently pulled at its frozen limbs to escape the hold on it. Loud, growling whinnies came from the horse as it snapped at her while she offered it the odd fruit.

This repeated for hours until the Pegasus tired itself out to complacency. She tended to its needs as she helped it get warm. By the time night fell, she didn't have the Pegasus trained, but she did have its trust, which was a good start.

She smiled as it nuzzled into her chest, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Sighing, she headed back to the kingdom, her mind focusing on how to retrieve her locket. How could she outsmart Loki? Would he keep the locket on him or leave it in his room?

Entering the main dining hall, she watched as the last of the Asgardians were starting to leave. Loki sat alone, n amused smile on his lips as Lorelei approached him. "That look does not suit your lovely face."

"Loki, please, give it back."

He raised an eyebrow as his smile grew, "I was unaware we were so familiar with each other, Lorelei." He pulled the locket from his pocket, "I stand by what I said. You get this from me, you get to return to your precious human world."

He gestured to the seat by him, "Join me."

With skeptical steps, she made her way to the table, sitting next to him and looking at her plate, "I apologize for the informal tone. You've taken something I treasure, and it is something I willing to risk my life to have it back."

"Good, that is why I took it and a few other things," Loki said as he twirled a fork between his fingers. His eyes held hers as he smirked mischievously, "Everything from that miserable planet has been taken from you. You must find it all, or you will forget the life you left behind."

Her eyes narrowed as she stood, "Very well. When I come for you, I will show you no mercy."

Loki laughed, "And what do you think you can do against me, the god who made you what you are?"

"I will beat you at your own game. I will find a way to get back what you have taken, and I will make sure you pay." Tears barely stung at her eyes as she looked away, "I was hoping to consider you a friend as well as a teacher, but that was a fool's hope."

She dismissed herself, heading back to her room, a place she did not want to stay any longer than needed. True to his word, everything from Earth was missing. Clenching her fists, she fell onto the bed and took a deep breath to stop the oncoming snow storm.

With her lessons with Loki over, Lorelei found herself frequenting the fields, watching the Valkyrie train and keeping up with the slow taming of the Pegasus she named Brooklyn. Thor enjoyed drinking with the woman when he could, and even trained her in combat, letting her use her magic against his hammer.

Years passed, every day starting with a brief look around of the kingdom to find any hint where her things would be, the day ending with her asking Loki to return her items.

She knew she had overstayed her welcome when the ten year mark came to her attention. She didn't want to move out since that would put her at a disadvantage, but she had saved up enough money to buy a small cottage by the sea.

"So, you did decide to leave," Loki said as he walked into the barren home, nose scrunching at the lack of luxury. He gave her a smirk, "Have you accepted defeat?"

"No. Your mother has given me access to the kingdom when I am not working so I can continue my search."

He laughed, "Someone gave you a job?"

"History repeats itself. I am a tailor once again."

"You had everything, and you gave it up for this," Loki said in distaste. "Do you not see it as foolish?"

"I had nothing. I still have nothing, but I plan to earn what I can to make it until I can go home."

She didn't want to keep the dresses, but Lady Frigga had absolutely insisted, so she accepted them. The citizens were wary of her presence but awed at her tailoring of Lady Frigga's dresses. Taming Brooklyn had been enough to buy the quaint home, but a few coins from small drinking games had helped as well.

The more Lorelei thought about it, the more she realized she had changed. She smiled less. Her interests wavered, and she rarely talked to Thor, though the thunder god was always enthusiastic to see her. It was like her twentieth birthday. Alone, lost, stuck and sewing her problems away.

She would be getting her things back soon, and it would be in a way no one had ever imagined.

Lorelei frequented the kingdom, sizing and tailoring clothing according to the royal's size. Loki especially loved having her measure and tailor his clothing, making sure to make the job as difficult as possible. She hardly acknowledged it, never expressing how her cunning plan was going along.

Years flew by as Lorelei built up more information about the kingdom and Odin's treasure room. When a small battle had started in another realm, Loki left his room vulnerable, which Lorelei took advantage. With nothing to be found there, she figured it had to be in the treasure room, the one place she would have to ask permission to go and to have someone take her.

One long drinking night with Thor confirmed her suspicions, which pushed her in the direction she had been waiting to go. One very few and rare occasions specifically on the solstices, she was able to control both elements. She had learned how to create mirages from mixing the icy prisms and invisible heat to the point where she had practically made herself invisible if she focused hard enough.

Still, she waited, enjoying the squirming and nervous looks from Loki whenever she entered a room. She played off forgetting her former life on Earth, though she did see it to be odd that nearly twenty years had passed and she still looked twenty.

"You're up to something," Loki said as she closed the door to her home.

"I'm forty, yet I haven't aged. I don't know if it's this place or if it's the serum that's prevented me from aging."

"There it is," he said coyly. "Asgard is still not your home."

"It never will be. It is not the time spent that makes a place a home, but the people and the memories. I will always remember and cherish my time here, but it will never have what Earth offered."

"And what, pray tell, did Earth have to offer that you cannot find here?"

"Hate."

Her cold response caught Loki off guard as he studied the calm woman in front of him. "You are actively looking to hate something? Have you met my brother?"

"Asgard has been kind to me, more than I deserve, but it will never be home, no matter how long I stay."

He chuckled, "It's a shame you can't leave."

"I haven't given up. I can't give up," she said dismally, looking at the floor.

She had mastered the art of lying to the point of fooling Loki. That was a feat she was unashamedly proud of achieving, but her next feat would be much harder.

King Odin was throwing a party, a large one. Races of other planets would be coming ensuing a new type of chaos in the kingdom. She had managed to get Thor take her down there, helping her memorize the way and how to open the door. Her control over her ice and fire magic had become precise and deadly. With her ice powers, her body could turn into the smallest fragments of a snowflake, easily able to slip through cracks and solidify elsewhere. Her fire ability was nearly the same, her body able to heat to such an extreme degree where she was simply an invisible flame, causing chaos as she slipped through.

Most of her focus had been put toward turning objects into snow, thin and wispy so to not alert anyone to it happening. Getting her belongs back was not going to be easy, especially since she was certain Loki would move them.

A knock echoed through the small cottage. Lorelei rolled up the blueprints of the kingdom she had drawn and tossed them to the corner. Her eyes widened when she recognized Lady Frigga on her doorstep. With a quick, uncertain bow, she directed her attention back to the lovely queen of Asgard. In her arms we familiar items, items Lolei almost didn't recognize.

"Lorelei, dear, had you retrieved these items, you would have been sentenced to death. You will always be welcome, but it is time for you to return home."

A smile came to Lorelei's face as she shakily took her dufflebag back. Without warning or permission, she embraced the queen, "Thank you, Lady Frigga."

Lorelei's trust was betrayed when she felt the knife enter her stomach. Watery eyes met the icy blue of Loki who gave her a sympathetic look, "You will never return to that human planet, Lorelei. You, yourself, are a goddess, now. Returning to those humans would only take away what you rightfully deserve." He placed his hand on her shoulder, "Stay. You can be at my side always, as a student should be."

Her eyes focused on the bag, watching as it slowly turned to small snowflakes. When Loki noticed, he tried to touch the bag, only for it to burst into snow and disappear in a flurry her tired eyes met the rage of the chaos god.

"I will not allow you to go," he snarled as he reached for her, his hand going through the wispy snowflakes of her arm.

"Goodbye, Loki," she said as she held up the locket he had taken from her.

He did not try to stop her again as she faded into the snowflakes he had helped her master.

She stood before Heimdall, who had grown accustomed to her presence over the years. She hadn't really seen him since she first arrived, but being in front of him again wasn't as terrifying as the first time.

"If you choose to return to Earth, you will not be returning to Asgard."

After a shaky breath, she nodded, "I know. Will you send me to Howard Stark? I don't know where he would be now."

The large man lifted his sword, shoving it into the keyhole. The chamber began to rotate and move before Lorelei was shot from the building like a bullet from a gun.

She landed hard on a tile floor, a woman and man screaming not far away.

"Oh my God, Lorelei. Maria, it's Lorelei, that other super soldier I told you about."

Lorelei slowly pushed herself from the cracked floor, tripping on the lime dress she wore. Sighing, she looked at the direction of the voice, gasping at the sight of the middle aged man laying in bed with a young woman, "Howie?"

He started to get out of bed, then paused and gave her an embarrassed smile, "You're uh, in my bedroom."

"Right," she said with an embarrassed smile as she snatched up her bag and left the room. Her feet stopped at the doorway when she saw a tiny child standing in front of the door. "Howard, there's a child."

The tiny thing had messy black hair, yawning as he rubbed the sleep from his dark eyes. He blinked as he looked up at her, his eyes widening a bit, "Are you a fairy?"

She smiled a bit as she squatted down so she was eye level with the boy. His eyes widened and sparkled in delight as frosty wings began to form on her back. She placed her hand on his cheek, "No, little one. I'm your godmother."

"What's your name?" He asked curiously.

"It's Lorelei, but you can call me whatever you want."

He gave her a thoughtful look, "You can be Mama Bear."

She blinked, "Mama Bear?"

"Yeah! I really like polar bears, and since you can make snow and they live in snow, Mama Bear."

"Lorelei, this is Tony. He's my son."

Her eyes went back to the middle aged man. He had wrinkles on his face, grey in his thinning hair. His eyes weren't as mischievous as they had been, though that playful glint was starting to show as he smiled at her.

"It's been over thirty years," he said as he picked Tony up. "It's June 20, 1973."

She hummed thoughtfully as she opened her hand, watching ice appear in her palm. "Last day of the winter solstice."

"Your birthday," he reminded. "You'll be fifty-two this year." He sighed, "We found the Tesseract, but we still haven't found Steve or Bucky."

"Howard, sweetheart, I think it's time for bed," the blonde woman said as she moved to his side, tightening her bathrobe.

"Maria, dear, this is Lorelei Winters. Lore, this is my wife, Maria."

Lorelei shook her hand, smiling at the woman, "It's nice to see Howard finally settled down with a good woman. And, she's right, Howie. The little genius needs sleep."

"I'll see you in the kitchen," Howard said as he took Tony down the hall to where she assumed his room would be.

Maria sighed, "I would have believed you to be one of his former tramps, but you have manners. I'll show you to the kitchen."

Lorelei smiled as she followed Maria down the halls, "I'm sorry about the roof. I told Heimdall to send me to Tony, and I didn't think I would go through the building."

"I've been wanting a new roof, and Howard has been putting it off, so I should thank you for speeding up the process," Maria said with a smile. "I must admit you are every bit as beautiful as he described."

Lorelei chuckled, "Thank you, but you are by far the most attractive woman I have ever seen with Howard. He's lucky to have you."

"No, he is lucky to have met you. It gave him a new view on life. He creates more than weapon, now. Medicines, machines, he's even working on starting his own farm."

"Farm? I want to help." Lorelei gave an embarrassed smile, "I've always wanted to live outside the city."

She wasn't surprised at the grandiose kitchen, all sparkling new appliances. Some she didn't recognize. Maria had to teach her about the newest refrigeration technology, stoves, ovens, and the like. She was fascinated by the coffee pot as she watched the hot water bubble into the glass pitcher.

"Sorry about that," Howard apologized.

Lorelei poured the coffee into a mug and smiled at him, "Don't worry. I want you to catch me up on everything."

"No, you left for thirty some odd years and you come back dressed in that," he said, gesturing to her dress. "You're supposed to look fifty, not twenty!"

She shook her head, "I think it was the super soldier serum. Could have been the god blood, but I don't know."

"Tell me about Asgard," he smiled as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

The two stayed up the rest of the night listening to each other's stories. She told him about the kindness and rudeness of the Asgardians, how much she learned, about Loki and Thor, even telling him about her unofficial pet Pegasus, Brooklyn.

He informed her of the mistakes he made regarding his weapons. He had remained in contact with Peggy Carter, helping in whatever ways he could to create more weapons to protect the world from HYDRA. Not everyone believed his weapons were for the greater good, so he became a fugitive, until the worst happened. Someone stole his plans for an ultimate weapon, what he called the Nitramene document. She laughed at his near death experiences when he was almost blown up and how angry Peggy Carter was with him.

He yawned, "I'm going back to bed. It's nice to know you're back. I know you'll keep Tony safe."

"Howard, you should get out of the medical business while you're still ahead of yourself. HYDRA would pay a high price for Steve's blood."

"Even higher for yours," he said as he started to walk away. "Get some sleep, Lorelei. We'll talk more later."

She sighed as she sipped on the coffee in front of her. Howard was a man of the future. There was no doubt Tony would follow in his blood painted footsteps, but war was the Stark way. She was just hoping she could help make it less red. With all his secrets, Lorelei knew all of the Starks would be in danger, but she needed to protect Tony.

She ran her fingers through her glowing hair, frowning at the fact it was actually glowing in the darkness. Stupid goddess blood.

As she roamed the house, she managed to find a room she knew to be for her. Not only did it say WELCOME HOME LORELEI, but there was a large poster of Captain America on the front, making her smile.

Gently touching his face, she pushed the door open, laughing at the Captain America covered room, bedsheets included.

"Dad told me you were good friends with Captain America, so I made sure you had the best room in the house," Tony said as he walked into the room.

The glaring yellow walls would have to go, but she could handle it for the time being. Dropping her dufflebag onto the bed, she rummaged through the old things, pulling out the picture of her and Bucky on New Years, placing it on the nightstand by her bed.

"Who's that?"

"That is Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes. He was Captain America's best friend."

"Was he your boyfriend?"

"Yes," she replied quietly looking back to Tony, she placed her hand on his head, "Aren't you supposed to be asleep?"

He smiled up at her, "Read me a story?"

She followed him to his room which was also covered in Captain America things. His shelves were lined with many books, most being new literature released after the 40s.

Tony placed a book in her hands, smiling widely at her as she read the title. "The Hobbit."

He nodded excitedly as he pulled her to his bed, climbing under the sheets and getting comfortable as she sat on the edge. It wasn't quite the same as when Bucky read to her, but she would do what she could to help the boy sleep.

"In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that meant comfort," she read, glancing at the excited boy.

So, she continued reading, glancing every so often to see if the boy was asleep or not. By the end of the first chapter, he had started to fall asleep, making Lorelei smile a bit. Was this how Bucky and Steve felt when they first brought her in?

She left his room, silently closing the door. The world was not how she had left it, but she had never felt more at home. The feeling of acceptance washed over her, ridding her body of the pent up years of tension that had been building in Asgard. Her war on HYDRA could be put off a few more days.

She woke up to the door opening wildly, slamming against the wall as Tony rushed in and jumped on her, "Mama Bear! Jarvis made lots of food, so you'll be able to eat, too!"

She groaned as she wrapped her arm around the kid, pulling her to her chest and playfully squeezing him as he laughed and struggled to get out of her grip. After a couple of minutes, she released him and got out of bed.

Tony was tugging her along, telling her that breakfast was his favorite meal because it was Captain America's favorite. When they arrived in the kitchen, she smiled at the familiar face of Edwin Jarvis.

He nearly dropped the coffee mug in his hand as he stared at her. Like Howard, he had aged. Wrinkles formed at the corners of his eyes as he smiled. Their friendship had been short-lived, but meaningful. He did find her appetite amusing after a few meals.

He grinned widely as he walked up and hugged the woman, "Thirty years, and you haven't aged a day!"

"Gotta stay young and fit if I'm going to be a soldier, right?" She joked as she looked at the mountain of breakfast she hadn't tasted in decades.

Her eyes widened, her mouth watering as the butler handed her a plate, allowing her to get her fill before anyone else in the family. She sat at the table, waiting as Edwin plated food for the remaining family, though Tony asked for as much food as Lorelei had.

"But, I want to be a super soldier, too!" He whined as he compared his one piece of bacon and small amount of scrambled eggs to the two plates of Lorelei's, one with bacon the other stacked with eggs.

"And you will, one day. For now, eat what you can so you don't waste food," Lorelei advised as she poured some orange juice into a small cup for the boy. "I wasn't a super soldier until I was twenty. I played with my friends and lived life to the fullest. You should do the same."


End file.
